James D. MacPhee, who will become chairman of the Independent Community Bankers of America this week, has the right pedigree for the job at the right time.

Lawsuits filed in U.S. federal courts involving collection and credit issues surged in the fiscal year ended Sept. 30 compared with the previous year - a jump linked to Americans struggling with foreclosures and consumer debts.

A legal battle is brewing between the parent company of AmTrust Bank of Cleveland and the federal regulators who took over the failing thrift late last year.

First Financial Services Corp. in Hendersonville, N.C., reported a $9.9 million fourth-quarter loss, six times the $1.6 million loss it posted in the same period a year earlier.

Sterling Bancorp in New York has priced its public offering and increased the number of shares the company will offer.

Gary L. Nalbandian, the Harrisburg, Pa., company's president and chief executive, said it will expand organically after its bid for Republic First Bancorp Inc. in Philadelphia collapsed.

RIVERSIDE, Calif. – In its latest concession to the region’s economy, Altura CU said it will close its Coachella branch and lay off the six employees there on March 24.

The use of data and analysis in collections has come a long way. The best collectors not so long ago would rely on the magical powers of knowledge and instinct to determine the accounts that were the most apt to pay and, if so, how to best secure payment.

KALAMAZOO, Mich. – Consumers CU will open a branch in May in the South Kalamazoo Mall in the space formerly occupied by clothing retailer Lana’s Couture.

SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Teachers CU, the state’s largest credit union, has acquired land in Fishers where it plans to build a new branch.

Metro Bancorp in Harrisburg, Pa., has called off plans to buy Republic First Bancorp in Philadelphia.

Capitol Bancorp Ltd. said Monday that it has a stock redemption agreement with USNY Bank to sell its 51% interest in the $64 million-asset bank.

S.Y. Bancorp Inc. in Louisville announced revised fourth-quarter and full-year results after discovering a fraud-related problem loan.<

More than a year after the massive bank bailout started, officials announced the first fraud case Monday against an executive charged with trying to game the government's help.

In recent weeks some bank stocks have been delisted for failing to meet the market's $1 minimum bid price requirement, and as Nasdaq cracks down, other banks are choosing to delist voluntarily before they get kicked out.

Flagstar Bancorp in Troy, Mich., announced Monday that it is raising additional capital a month after an effort to raise funds from existing shareholders came up short.

Portfolio Recovery Associates Inc., a Norfolk, Va. debt buyer, announced today that it has acquired a controlling interest in the assets of Claims Compensation Bureau (CCB), a company that specializes in recovering funds and processing payments owed under class-action settlements.

Many financial institutions' main Web sites include microsites — pages that promote a specific product or service. They're not too flashy or innovative, not too expensive, not too taxing on the technology department and certainly present no threat of overshadowing the banks' primary sites.

Prosecutors are expected to announce the arrest of Charles J. Antonucci Sr., the former president of The Park Avenue Bank, which was closed by regulators on Friday.

The deadline to become compliant with the final rule on the “ability to pay” amendments to Regulation Z stemming from the CARD Act of 2009 passed last month. Financial institutions are breathing a sigh of relief and getting on with their business.