The Latest

Receiving Wide Coverage ...Collecting: The federal government is increasingly garnishing student loan borrowers' Social Security checks to recover unpaid student debt "most of it borrowed years ago to cover their own educations but some used to pay for their children's schooling," according to a report from the Government Accountability Office. Since 2001, the government has collected more than $1 billion from Social Security recipients of all ages to cover unpaid student loans, with $171 million coming in fiscal 2015 alone. That one-year total is up 440% since 2002. Most of the affected recipients are over age 50 and collecting disability benefits, the Wall Street Journal reports.

BB&T Corp. in Winston-Salem, N.C., joins a growing list of banks that are dealing with consent orders tied to the Bank Secrecy Act.

The Federal Reserve and Federal Trade Commission investigated Visa for debit practices, a move that enhances competition in the marketplace for merchants.

Merchant acquirers say the industry has worked over the course of decades to improve its ethics. But some acquirers report that deceptive practices and dubious tactics still exist, and that the card brands could do a better job at enforcing their own rules.

The scourge of account takeover isn't lost on Citizens Union Bank, which is involving its business customers — or rather, their biometric traits — in improving the security of their accounts.

Peapack-Gladstone Financial in Bedminster, N.J., has filed a shelf registration statement to sell as much as $100 million in securities.

Opes Advisors shows would-be borrowers how purchasing a house fits into their total financial picture, now and years into the future. Many of its loan officers are licensed investment advisors.

The National Association of Realtors is warning House Republicans leaders that their tax reform plan would marginalize two long-standing tax incentives for owning a home, which could hurt the housing market.

Liberty Financial Services in New Orleans said it will redeem more than 11,000 shares of preferred stock it issued as part of the Troubled Asset Relief Program after receiving an investment from BancorpSouth in Tupelo, Miss.

Flagstar Bancorp in Troy, Mich., said that the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has terminated its 2012 consent order with its Flagstar Bank on Monday.