I was at a summit with 300 other community bankers when we were startled by chants of "Make Banks Pay!" Occupy Wall Street and related groups see no solutions coming out of Washington they are attacking bankers as public enemy #1.

Women are still a minority in banking, but their ranks and clout are growing. Leading lights from banking and finance gathered at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel on Thursday to celebrate the shattering of the glass ceiling.

Ambassador Financial Group Inc. of Allentown, Pa., has bought Danielson Associates LLC of Bethesda, Md.

Royal Bancshares of Pennsylvania Inc. in Narbeth said Friday that Wayne Huey Jr. was elected to its board.

HSBC Holdings PLC said Friday that Niall Booker is leaving his position as chief executive officer of the bank's North American operations, with two senior executives set to take overall responsibility for the U.S. and Canada.

Virgin Money, the banking division of Richard Branson's Virgin Group, Friday said it has appointed David Clementi as its new chairman to succeed the late Brian Pitman.

Barclays Capital will sell $1 billion in credit card asset-backed securities on Friday in the biggest such dollar-denominated deal from its Gracechurch bond issuing program since 2005, according to a person close the deal.

Reliant Bank in Brentwood, Tenn., is looking to raise up to $12 million to satisfy an agreement with regulators and to promote growth.

Cascade Bancorp in Bend, Ore., has hired former Fifth Third Bancorp executive Terry Zink to become its chief executive.

The mood among bankers gathered in New York on Thursday evening to honor American Banker's 25 Most Powerful Women in Banking was decidedly much more subdued, even humbler, than it has been in years past.

PORTSMOUTH, N.H. – Gov. John Lynch yesterday joined employees of Service CU to celebrate the laying of the final beam to complete the steel frame of the credit union’s new, 100,000-square-foot headquarters building.

Right now, every customer who uses a debit card could be using a credit card instead. And each one could also share in the increased interchange income.

Private lenders, never a big part of the student loan market, have exited in droves over the past few years. Now some analysts are warning that new potential legislation and an increasing wave of defaults could drive out the last few holdouts.

If the industry works seriously with the reasonable critics of its fee practices — the ones who stress disclosure — it can safely ignore the rabble-rousers.

Fearing that banks might get off too easy in the multi-state mortgage settlement talks, Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley is preparing to file lawsuits against the nation's largest servicers for wrongfully foreclosing on customers.

Frustrated by a dearth of deals, a growing number of community banks are repurchasing their own shares and keeping them on hand for future opportunities.

First Tennessee Bank in Memphis is taking an unusual approach with its new debit card fees: instead of collecting a monthly fee, the bank will charge its customers a few cents every time they use their debit cards.

The president offers a sharp critique of the banking industry, while saying that he does not believe the government should dictate how much profit private companies make.

Alliance Data Systems Corp. will take over the private-label credit card program for Pier 1 Imports Inc., the retailer said Thursday.

2011 Most Powerful Women in Banking festivities kicked off Wednesday night at the Gansevoort Park Avenue Hotel in New York.