Kip Weissman, partner with law firm Luse Gorman Pomerenk & Schick in Washington, says lack of options for small banks has more of them weighing whether to partner with similarly sized rivals.

The Justice Department said Thursday that SunTrust Banks Inc.'s (STI) mortgage-lending unit would pay $21 million to settle charges that it discriminated against minorities seeking loans.

Banks today are searching for ways to increase profitability while also navigating a growing number of regulations that require stronger risk management. The result is that banks are trying to pivot back into growth mode while simultaneously needing to manage their exposure more rigorously.

Preferred Bank (PFBC) of Los Angeles has signed a memorandum of understanding with regulators after a more formal consent order was lifted.

MasterCard Inc. (MA) Chief Executive Ajay Banga said card spending between April and late May rose in the U.S. and abroad.

Fitch Ratings has lowered its outlook on Trustmark Corporation (TRMK) from "stable" to "negative" following Jackson, Miss., company's announcement Tuesday that it is acquiring BancTrust Financial (BTFG) of Mobile, Ala.

More than a quarter of all national residential sales in the first quarter were either a short sale or bank-owned property, according to RealtyTrac.

The Community Mortgage Lenders of America wants the two government-sponsored enterprises preserved in their current form.

After operating exclusively in Massachusetts for more than a century, United Financial Bancorp (UBNK) in West Springfield is making the leap across the state line.

The CFPB plans to make lenders responsible for disclosures and document integrity, even for services they farm out to third parties, such as appraisals, income verification and collections. Compliance vendors smell cash in the water.

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The election inspector determined that the nominee for Stilwell Group was delinquent in turning in a signed master ballot, invalidating most of the firm's votes as it challenged the Renton, Wash., company.

American Banker's metro Washington reporters found themselves working above a crime scene on Wednesday, after a PNC bank branch in the same building was robbed.

What would happen if you took the creativity and user-focused design sensibility of Silicon Valley and applied it to one of the least consumer-friendly industries on the planet — financial services? What is the Apple of budgeting? The Facebook of lending? The Google of bill payment?

SCRANTON, Penn. -- Cross Valley FCU opened a new branch this week and will open another in June.

PHILADELPHIA – American Heritage FCU opened its newest branch inside the ShopRite in Philadelphia.

Bank of America (BAC) announced Wednesday that it has hired more than 85 small-business bankers on the West Coast as part of its previously announced plan to add roughly 1,000 bankers nationwide by the middle of this year.

Five states accounted for nearly half the total of foreclosures that occurred over the past year through April 2012, CoreLogic's national foreclosure report revealed.

Alliance Data Systems (ADS) said Wednesday that it has renewed a long-term agreement to provide private-label credit cards for retailer Gardner-White Furniture.

Three years after a group of private equity firms bought BankUnited out of receivership, industry observers wonder if the deal really paved the way for other firms interested in consolidating banks.