In the years during and after the financial crisis, American families' net worth decreased to levels not seen since 1992. Regulators cited home equity declines as the primary reason behind the drop.

RENO, Nev. — Members of Sparks City Employees FCU approved the merger of their ailing one-time $16 million credit union into Great Basin FCU, the state's eighth-largest credit union.

The New York firm, formed 50 years ago, survived a tragic setback during the terrorist attacks of 2001.

The Treasury Department began to sell stakes it holds in seven banks that received bailout funds at the height of the financial crisis, continuing the slow process of winding down the Troubled Asset Relief Program.

The California company announced the opening of its first full-service U.K. branch a day after a key British official lamented in a column that European banks lack the capacity to help the nation's businesses grow.

Words like "oppressive" and "harsh" have been replace recently by terms like "fair" and "cooperative" in bankers' descriptions of how examiners are treating them. Thanks to go mostly to the improved condition of many institutions.

Georgetown Bancorp in Massachusetts has snagged two JPMorgan Chase (JPM) bankers for its mortgage origination team.

TriCo Bancshares (TCBK) of Chico, Calif., has named a former Countrywide Bank executive as its chief risk officer.

Continental Bank Holdings of Plymouth Meeting, Pa., has raised $16.5 million through a private placement.

Occupy protestors staged sit-ins at a foreclosed home in Minneapolis that resulted in 20 arrests. Problem is, the homeowners had vacated the property weeks before the protestors arrived.

In a rare do-over, members of Montana First CU are being asked again to approve the merger of the state's oldest credit union into Washington's Horizon CU in nearby Spokane Valley, a combination rejected by the membership in January.

A Utah-based debt collection agency has settled charges brought by the Federal Trade Commission that it exposed sensitive information on its computers and networks to security risks by failing to implement reasonable security measures.

The California company has a growing international operation due to its focus on venture capital and technology companies.

CLEARWATER, Fla. – Achieva CU, which is preparing to move to nearby Dunedin, has sold its 26,450-square-foot offices here for $2.8 million.

Regulators shuttered four banks Friday evening — totaling $676 million of assets — that combined are estimated to cost the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. about $80 million.

In interviews with two dozen bankers, regulators and outside experts, most point to a significant improvement between how bankers and examiners interact.

Activist investor Joseph Stilwell has stepped up his campaign to oust the chief executive at First Financial Northwest (FFNW) in Renton, Wash.

The non-profit group said four of the top 12 banks including BB&T Corp., HSBC Finance Corp., Regions Financial, and Capital One Financial Corp. did not disclose the size of overdraft penalty fees in writing either on checking account home pages or on the Web pages describing specific accounts.

ServisFirst Bancshares of Birmingham, Ala., is expanding its correspondent banking business into Tennessee and Georgia with the addition of two new executives.

A number of state officials are trying to move deposits to community banks, though it is unclear if smaller institutions have the capacity or regulatory blessing needed to hold the funds.