Wells Fargo will pay an $85 million civil penalty for misleading borrowers into taking out costly subprime loans and approving loans they were not eligible to receive, the Federal Reserve Board said Wednesday.

Banks are putting the focus back on simplicity in contactless payments, building payment wristbands, which do not need to be hidden away in wallets or activated through software.

Dodd-Frank missed the mark on the two areas most critical to avoiding a future meltdown. The job of identifying systemic risks was left to an unwieldy committee, and financial regulators remain about as balkanized as the intelligence agencies.

Wells Fargo & Co. has been slapped with a cease and desist order and $85 million fine by the Federal Reserve. It is the largest such action ever by the central bank and relates to subprime mortgage lending.

Steel man Frank Williams Jr. aims to become a winner in the bank consolidation game by capitalizing on Great Atlantic Financial's losses.

Community Trust Bancorp Inc. in Pikeville, Ky., said Wednesday that second-quarter earnings rose 4.9% from a year earlier, to $9 million, on higher net interest and noninterest income.

WASHINGTON — The Treasury Department announced a new round of investments Wednesday as part of a program to encourage community banks to make small business loans.

Victory Bancorp in Limerick, Pa., said Wednesday that it raised $2.6 million in capital. The company sold convertible preferred securities with a 7% coupon.

Banks are still digesting a full plate of mortgage and other economic woes, but that's not stopping them from adding ambitious technology projects to their diet.

Calif. Gov. Jerry Brown signs bill limiting any lien holder from going after borrowers if a short sale does not satisfy the entire mortgage.

The Neighborhood Assistance Corp. of America has filed a lawsuit against the Department of Housing and Urban Development, accusing the agency of "trying to silence and undermine" the homeowner assistance group.

Faced with the reality that they might not be able to sell their homes anytime in the near future, more homeowners are choosing to remodel.

A Florida Bar Association opinion could have costly legal ramifications for banks embroiled in the robosigning controversy.

Renasant Corp. in Tupelo, Miss., said late Tuesday that its second-quarter earnings jumped 51.7% from a year earlier, to $5.8 million, due to a wider net interest margin and a decline in its loan-loss provision.

Like many others in the industry, the New Jersey bank holding company has recently seen its net interest income weighed down heavily by persistently low interest rates.

Virginia Commerce Bancorp Inc. surpassed expectations for the second quarter due to a "substantial decrease" in its loan-loss provision and a sizeable increase in noninterest income.

July 21 marks the 1-year anniversary of the Dodd-Frank Act. This octopus of financial legislation continues to entangle both consumers and lenders and if left as written will continue to harm the housing industry.

John Kanas released a statement on Tuesday re-asserting that BankUnited Inc.'s planned acquisition of Herald National Bank jibes with his noncompete provisions with Capital One Bank.

A new CyberSource/Trust Wave survey says merchants have put PCI on the back burner.

Fulton Financial Corp. in Lancaster, Pa., said Tuesday that its second-quarter earnings rose nearly 15% from the same period last year, to $36. 4 million.