Allegiance Bancshares has hired a longtime Houston banker as its chief financial officer.

Many small and midsize firms consider overseas sales as crucial to sustained growth, and banks are responding by beefing up their trade-finance units.

The Township of Mount Holly, New Jersey and a local citizens' group are seeking to settle a dispute now before the Supreme Court that threatens to undercut the Obama administration's crackdown on alleged discrimination in lending.

The Office of the Comptroller Currency ordered JPMorgan Chase to refund fees to certain retirement account customers whom it steered into its own mutual funds. The move reflected regulators' broader concerns about conflicts of interest in its giant asset management business.

Rep. Jeb Hensarling is expected to unveil new mortgage finance reform legislation this month — an effort that has virtually no chance of becoming law this year, but one that will undoubtedly shape the housing debate.

A recap of the informed opinions (and the discussions they generated) on BankThink this week.

The nation's biggest mutual thrift has endured litigation, activists' protests and a check-kiting scandal at Roma, a thrift it is trying to buy.

Senior executives at JPMorgan Chase and TD Bank predict that the Affordable Care Act, aka "Obamacare," will put some of their health care clients out of business but provide extra M&A advisory work.

The Federal Trade Commission filed suit in federal court to halt a mortgage relief scheme that allegedly deceived and preyed on distressed homeowners by charging them $2,000 to $4,000 based on bogus foreclosure rescue claims.

Community Bank Shares of Indiana in New Albany recorded a nearly $1 million charge in the second quarter for a failed-bank acquisition.

First Merchants (FRME) in Muncie, Ind., had healthy competition in its effort to buy CFS Bancorp (CITZ) in Munster, Ind.

Pathie McKee, the chief financial officer of ViewPoint Financial (VPFG), will step down on July 31. She will remain as a consultant through yearend, the Plano, Texas, company announced Wednesday.

Mortgage disclosures and supervision of non-bank entities will be top concerns for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau as it enters its third official year of operation, according to its semi-annual rulemaking agenda released Wednesday.

Wal-Mart and Home Depot are among the companies being investigated by the New York attorney general over fees charged employees on prepaid cards used as worker paychecks.

John W. Allison of Home BancShares was on the prowl for a deal in Florida when a "game-changer" came up in its home state of Arkansas. He sacrificed geographic diversification for a local moneymaker. Was it the right move for the long term?

A number of lenders are betting that creating a closer tie between employers and loans to their employees will lead to lower default rates and cheaper consumer credit.

A former president and chief executive of a Tennessee bank is going to prison for bank fraud.

Carolina Premier Bank hopes its blend of Southern charm and robust technology (robotic bankers, anyone?) will be a hit with residents in the nation's capital.

Southern Methodist University's banking school has given Scott Dueser, the head of First Financial Bankshares in Abilene, Texas, its distinguished alumnus award for embracing change in challenging times.

Independence Bancshares (IEBS) in Greenville, S.C., plans to raise $1.8 million in a follow-up offering to a private placement that closed last December.