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.

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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.

StellarOne (STEL) in Charlottesville, Va., is planning to eliminate about 4% of its workforce, or 34 full-time jobs, as part of an overall cost-cutting effort that it says would save the company up to $2.4 million a year.

WASHINGTON – Dissatisfaction is growing in Congress with the Obama administration's decision to leave mortgage investors out of talks that led to a $25 billion settlement.

Sometimes there are more ways to pay for a bank than in cash or stock. Just ask Citizens South, which extracted job protections and a charitable donation for its local community before agreeing to sell to Park Sterling.

A big trading loss at Chase has some community bank CEOs discussing a second tier of regulation for small banks. Other CEOs believe the snafu is yet another black eye for the banking industry. And some point out that the loss is fairly insignificant to the New York company.