QBE's concession, made amid scrutiny of its relationship with major banks, would save investors and homeowners in the state $98 million a year. Part of that money would come from reducing the commissions it pays to banks.

Martin A. Steele will manage its commercial lending, cash management-treasury services and investment services, HomeStreet said Thursday.

First Bank has agreed to sell eight of its 19 branches in Florida to the $521 million-asset HomeBanc in Lake Mary, Fla., First Bank said Thursday. It will also close another three branches, two in Hillsborough County and one in Pasco County.

Mega-banks dominate the world of naming rights for sports stadiums (think Citi Field, home of the New York Mets). But community banks' names adorn stadiums, too.

Rather than invest heavily in one big risky project, banks should concentrate on many small innovations, beta test them and invest where customer feedback is positive.

The Transaction Account Guarantee program ran into trouble, a columnist warned of innovation's risk to banks and JPM's Jamie Dimon took to the spotlight.

ROANOKE, Va. – Freedom First CU is opening a new branch in Daleville in the former location of Blue Collar Joe’s restaurant, rural Botetourt County’s first full-service credit union branch.

IMGCAP(1)]

After a stock offering fell short of expectations, Sierra Vista Bank (SVBA) in Folsom, Calif., plans to raise about $1.7 million through a securities purchase agreement with Taylor International Fund.

Banks might have more success winning over underbanked consumers if they lowered initial deposit requirements and offered banking services to noncustomers, according to a new report from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

A battle over Senate procedures and the FDIC's absence from the debate were viewed as contributing to blocking a bill to extend the TAG program.

Lawrence Summers, formerly one of President Obama's top economic advisors, has joined Lending Club's board of directors, the company announced Thursday.

Flush with capital from a recent stock sale, Northeast has launched an online bank, established a nationwide loan-purchasing unit and, most recently, opened a mortgage office in Massachusetts.

Synovus, a Georgia-based company, and CEO Kessel Stelling should be able to devote more resources to loan growth, industry observers say.

A dispute in North Dakota over assessment fees for its state-owned bank could stymie efforts to open similar banks elsewhere.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued a proposal Thursday that would let lenders test various disclosure programs on consumers in an effort to make disclosures more concise and cost-effective.

TCF Financial (TCB) in Wayzata, Minn., plans to raise $100 million by selling preferred equity at $25 a share.

Retail strategy firm Peak Performance Consulting has welcomed two former banking execs to its team.

The Treasury said Thursday that it should gross about $23.8 million from auctioning stakes in seven participants in the Troubled Asset Relief Program. The expected proceeds would represent a 9% discount from the nearly $26 million that the government originally invested in those banks.

Banks are assuming greater risk on the strategic side, by entering unfamiliar product territory, and on the cost side, by devoting fewer resources for risk management.