After years of questions over whether regulators can impose "source-of-strength" rules, regulators are prepping a clearer standard that would, among other things, give them more oversight of some commercial firms such as Target and Toyota.

Fifth Third Bank is launching a chip-embedded commercial card that will allow the bank's business customers to make payments overseas.

Meta Financial Group (CASH) in Storm Lake, Iowa, will raise $34.2 million through the private placement of stock to a group of investors and will use the funds to recapitalize its bank and support growth.

Unprecedented regulatory demands and competition require banks to continue innovating and diversifying, says Aubrey Patterson, the Tupelo, Miss.-based company's longtime CEO, in a wide-ranging interview.

Washington Federal (WAFD) in Seattle has sold $2.4 billion of fixed-rate mortgage-backed securities and prepaid $876 million in long-term debt.

Seeking to increase its visibility in northern California, American River Bankshares (AMRB) in Sacramento has combined its three separately named banks under the name of its flagship brand.

Mutual thrift execs are having second thoughts about going public as dissident investors mount increasingly aggressive attacks on management. Critics charge the investors with gaming the system.

Western Liberty Bancorp (WLBC) was built to buy — but now it has decided to sell.

BOK Financial in Tulsa, Okla., has acquired the Milestone Group, a boutique investment firm in Denver that caters to high-net-worth families in Colorado and Nebraska.

In a surprising reversal, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau proposed rules on Friday that will allow lenders to continue offering discount points and fees rather than a flat fee when originating home loans.

The Treasury Department plans next week to auction preferred shares in five banks that received a combined $84 million from the Troubled Asset Relief Program.

Kentucky First Federal Bancorp said Friday that Tony Whitaker will step down as its CEO and as the president and CEO of its two thrifts.

We provide answers to frequently asked questions about what Treasury did, why it made its move — and what it means for the future of Fannie and Freddie.

Spirit of Texas Bank SSB in College Station said Friday that it is buying the $77 million-asset Oasis Bank in Houston.

Mutual thrifts looking to convert to publicly traded companies run the risk of increased pressure from activist investors. While the conversion process alone makes it easier for dissidents to accumulate shares, some observers say mutuals are also suffering from lax enforcement of rules designed to protect them.

Plaintiffs charge that Fifth Third's deposit advance program skirts Ohio state lending law by charging a fee that really amounts to interest on the loan.

Two businessmen, including a former Wachovia banker, were sentenced to federal prison for a $3 million bank fraud Thursday.

Trulia Inc., an Internet startup focused on residential real estate, filed to raise $75 million in an initial public offering, aiming to capitalize on an improving U.S. housing market.

Sabal Financial, a Newport Beach, Calif., firm that invests in distressed assets, has acquired $69 million of loans from BB&T (BBT) of Winston-Salem, N.C.

The management of 1st Constitution (FCCY) in Cranbury, N.J., is planning to raise up to $7 million through a rights offering.