The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau sent a mass email to thousands of the bank's customers and former employees to gather information about the possible creation of phony accounts. Critics — including a federal judge — say the CFPB asked leading questions and may have overstepped its bounds.

As Mastercard Installments nears launch, the card network is lining up tech partners to connect issuers to its buy now/pay later ecosystem.

A few months ago bankers were more hopeful than confident about an end to depressed demand for business credit. Now CEOs at Huntington, Fifth Third, Mercantile Bank and other companies are touting strong fourth-quarter loan growth, burgeoning pipelines and local job creation as reasons for optimism.

The deal is the latest example of a mainstream bank buying a point-of-sale lender focused on financing home improvement projects.