State Bank Financial in Atlanta reported strong loan growth and lower expenses in the first quarter, but its overall profit fell 38% from the same period last year due what it describes as the "inherent volatility" related to the accounting of failed-bank acquisitions.

The CFPB's mission is to protect consumers from financial harm.

Mergers and acquisitions enjoyed a notable uptick in the first quarter. Now financial dealmakers are hotly debating whether it's a one-quarter wonder or the beginning of a much-heralded consolidation.

Armed with fresh capital from its new ownership group, Crescent Financial Bankshares in Raleigh, N.C., has reported its first profitable quarter in two years and said it has won approval from regulators to resume divided payments on both trust-preferred securities and shares issued to the Treasury Department under the Troubled Asset Relief Program.

Hawaii State FCU announced this morning the hiring of Andrew Rosen, an experienced banker on the mainland, as president and CEO of the $1.3 billion credit union.

Making more bad loans is the tuition price for learning how to build and train new underwriting algorithms.

There's a sizable, growing community of people who'd be receptive to the notion that you can get needed services without having to support the companies that have inflicted so much damage on the economy and the country.

WASHINGTON — On the heaviest night of bank closures this year, regulators across four states shuttered a total of five institutions, bringing the year’s failure total to 22 and costing the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. more than $270 million.

Pay for bank CEOs increased a median 16% in 2011 among a group of 160 banks. Growth was particularly brisk at institutions with less than $20 billion of assets, where CEO compensation measured 2% of total payroll expenses, a far higher level than at larger banks.

Consumer groups are still angry over the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's decision to revise a rule on credit card fees in light of a recent court ruling. But others say it was a smart play for an agency that must pick its battles.

WSFS Financial (WSFS) in Wilmington, Del., has been using its excess capital to open new branches, hire lenders and beef up its wealth management operations, but Chief Executive Mark Turner assured investors and analysts Friday that repaying the $53 million it received from the Troubled Asset Relief Program remains a priority.

After experiencing resounding rejections of their executive compensation plans in "Say on Pay" votes in 2011, four community banks — Umpqua, Lakeland Financial, The First of Long Island and Chemical Financial — got busy implementing innovating pay policies.

First Banks of Clayton, Mo., said Friday that it has called off its plan to sell its Florida branch network to an unnamed bank after the two sides could not come to terms on a deal.

The Houston bank's four deals since September would not slow it down if it sees another good M&A opportunity, David Zalman says. Proxy filing details how it courted American State Financial.

"White paper" by Hawke and Litan says institutions do not get the same "value" out of their exams following the crisis as they did before the crisis.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is working to finalize the definition of a Qualified Mortgage under the forthcoming ability-to-pay regulations. These regulations will have profound implications for the entire U.S. residential mortgage market.

A coalition of 23 banking industry trade groups urged the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Friday to adopt a safe harbor protection from lawsuits for lenders that originate qualified mortgages when the bureau issues a final rule this year.

Christopher Whalen at Tangent Capital is concerned about a component of the initial public offering that lets some existing investors sell their stock.

First Financial Bancorp (FFBC) in Cincinnati is planning to close 10 of its branches in a move it says will reduce its annual overhead by about $2.3 million.