Bank of America is under investigation in connection with its role as the administrator of a state program that was rife with fraud. The fiasco is one of several involving the prepaid card industry over the last 12 years.

The Boston-area mutual has agreed to acquire Patriot Community Bank, a single-branch lender based in Woburn, Massachusetts.

The bank’s unified digital plans include personalization and a customized mobile dashboard encompassing all the business a customer does with BofA.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau took a step toward addressing appraisal bias with a proposal that kicked off an interagency rulemaking on automated valuation models, which use reams of data to assess property values.

Following the departure of longtime chairman and CEO Dan Sheehan, the company has chosen Abel Iglesias, president of Professional’s bank subsidiary, as the new CEO. Meanwhile, director Herbert Martens has become nonexecutive chairman.

Brad Bolton, incoming chairman of the Independent Community Bankers of America, wants the advocacy group to push back against overly broad policymaking and credit unions' tax status, while opening the door to cannabis banking.

The Federal Reserve and the FDIC are weighing changes to their policies for reviewing mergers and acquisitions, and that’s creating a sense of urgency among bankers to cinch deals now.

Buying BT Holdings in Texas will take the Louisiana bank close to the size where it would face increased regulatory scrutiny and a reduction in interchange revenue.

The $2.3 trillion-asset company plans to scrap the charges by this summer. It joins Capital One and Ally in doing away with the fees, which face pressure from Biden-era regulators.

The Houston bank negotiated the agreement with the National Community Reinvestment Coalition after closing its merger with BancorpSouth. That deal created a lender with $50 billion of assets and operations in nine states.

Banks flush with liquidity are likely to keep deposit yields low even as the rates they earn on loans widen, which should result in higher net interest income. One industry analyst predicts “NII to the sky.”

Roughly two dozen countries have issued central bank digital currencies or have pilots underway. But until financial services firms strengthen the security of their mobile apps, these payment tools are unlikely to gain widespread acceptance.

Canadian banks have frozen just over 200 accounts under emergency powers invoked by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau that are meant to end protests in Ottawa and at key border crossings, a government official said this week.

With its $1.1 billion deal for Technisys, the onetime student-loan refinancer adds a banking-core software arm as it pushes beyond deposits and lending.

Year to date through Dec. 31, 2021. Dollars in thousands.

Year to date through Dec. 31, 2021. Dollars in thousands.

The Los Angeles bank did not explain what it is investigating. It announced record annual earnings of $56.9 million in January, but news of the investigation and the uncertainty around CEO Alan Thian sent its stock price downward by 15%.

An ultracompetitive job market is forcing lenders to boost salaries, requiring many to caution investors that expenses could jump before profits from higher rates are realized.

Government officials spend a lot of time criticizing banks for gouging customers even though their own statistical reports demonstrate that fees are not a major issue for consumers.

Some investors worry the rebound in consumer lending will inevitably lead to more defaults. Here’s why bank executives disagree.