RBS Citizens Financial Group is expanding its private student loans business across the contiguous United States, the company announced on Tuesday.

MetroCorp Bancshares (MCBI) in Houston has commenced a public stock offering to raise $40 million of common equity.

One drawback with most envelope-free automated teller machines is that checks and cash have to be deposited separately, but that could soon change for customers of Fifth Third Bank (FITB).

Banks are facing a Wild West atmosphere as they invest in a patchwork of new payments technologies, from prepaid cards to mobile payments, without any guarantees that they will pick the right one.

At least two bank advisory firms are structuring pools of nonperforming assets for community banks. The pools give the sellers a better chance of attracting buyers, who generally prefer buying assets in bigger lots.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. will give its next update on the health of the banking industry on May 24.

On the whole, large banks appear to have primed their books for a rebound in rates: levels of short-term assets relative to short-term liabilities are now higher than they have been during roughly the past decade. The postures of individual institutions vary widely, however.

The mobile payments venture Isis has already signed some major banking companies to its smartphone-based payment system. Its newly announced merchant roster likewise features big-name participants.

Grand Bankshares in West Palm Beach, Fla., has been ordered by the Federal Reserve Board to serve as a source of strength for its struggling bank subsidiary.

Two former executives at Oxford Collection Agency each pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, bank fraud and money laundering and one count of wire fraud stemming from a $10 million fraud scheme against Connecticut-based Webster Bank, federal officials said Tuesday.

Inspired by rock bank REO Speedwagon, the North Carolina Bankers Association has created a website where banks – and only banks – can market real estate-owned properties directly to consumers.

Federal Reserve Board Gov. Elizabeth Duke outlined a number of factors — such as the mortgage servicer settlement, the huge number of underwater borrowers and the failure to reform the GSEs — that are working to limit mortgage credit to healthy borrowers.

Bradley S. Everly, the chief financial officer at the ailing Orrstown Financial Services in Shippensburg, Pa., has resigned after 14 years on the job.

CEOs at smaller banks have mixed views about the shocking $2 billion trading loss at JPMorgan Chase. Some view it as justification for regulating small banks differently than bigger institutions, while others viewed the fallout as yet another assault on their industry.

Naugatuck Valley Financial in Connecticut swung to a loss in the quarter that ended March 31 following its discovery that it had been underpaying interest on certain customers’ certificate-of-deposit accounts.

Virtual currency is prevalent in gaming, where users can deploy credits to continue using favorite social games or to buy virtual goods and powerups. But that's likely just the start. According to several market reports, virtual commerce is a $2.2 billion industry that's projected to grow to a whopping $6 billion in fewer than five years.

IMGCAP(1)]

IMGCAP(1)]

The bureau is still the lead agency, but Dodd-Frank's ban on certain harmful practices known as UDAAP could give other agencies a significant role through their enforcement authority over community banks.

Institutional Shareholder Service backs the Renton, Wash., company's director nominees. Dissident shareholder Joseph Stilwell is trying to get his general counsel added to the board.