Freddie says its new "low-activity" fee will offset the cost of monitoring the loans it buys, but avoiding it could be a challenge for lenders in rural markets.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. has taken enforcement actions against eight banks and freed 12 others from prior orders, according to a series of orders released Friday.

Net interest margins are complex beasts. During the last Fed tightening cycle, the yield curve turned negative and margins narrowed.

The threat posed by Google's new Gmail money transmission feature will put the onus on banks to deliver the ultimate person-to-person payments experience, which only they can provide.

Oxford Bank in Michigan has terminated its planned sale to Level One Bancorp due to regulatory delays and an improvement in Oxford's financial condition.

Clarkston Financial in Michigan has implemented a 10-for-1 reverse stock split.

BNC Bancorp in High Point, N.C., has agreed to buy Randolph Bank & Trust in Asheboro, N.C.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has managed to take one of the most controversial provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act — a rule that would effectively redefine the mortgage market — and craft it in a way to please both the banking industry and consumer groups.

For the second year in a row, Harvard Illinois Bancorp and its management have prevailed in a proxy battle with activist investor Joseph Stilwell.

The Treasury Department plans to auction its remaining stakes in 16 banks as it continues to unwind its holdings from the Troubled Asset Relief Program.

Credit unions added 800,000 new members in the first quarter of the year, the best quarter ever for membership growth, the National Credit Union Administration said on Thursday.

Ally Bank notched the highest number of best practices among the nation's largest banks in the areas of disclosure, overdrafts and dispute resolution, according to a report released Thursday by the Pew Charitable Trusts.

First it was Jamie Dimon's cufflinks. Now JPMorgan Chase is cementing its reputation as a fashion-forward bank, with a Marie Claire article about Chief Financial Officer Marianne Lake.

Nancy Graves, who until last week served as assistant director of New Jersey's Department of Banking and Insurance, has joined Pascack Bancorp (PSBR) in Waldwick as president and chief executive.

New York's Department of Financial Services has reached a deal with several small specialty insurance carriers, triggering a statewide ban on force-placed insurance payments to banks.

Members of the House Financial Services Committee are pressing the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau for details about its investigation into discriminatory auto lending.

The bank wants to double in size by pursuing acquisitions and hiring bankers away from competitors.

Wells Fargo (WFC) Chief Executive Officer John Stumpf said managing low interest rates may be the most pressing challenge for bankers and that his company had prematurely kept funds idle to gird for increases.

The T. Rowe Price Group has agreed to sell its banking unit to the investor Jacob Safra.

SLM Corp. believes its bank unit would be more valuable as its own company, but it could also be attractive to other banks eager to add earning assets.