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There is merit to the 'coopetition' strategy, such as faster time to market and reduced consumer confusion. But time and again, bitter rivals such as telcos and big-box retailers try to work together only to see their efforts fall apart or vastly reduce the scope of their goals.

Users of the Walmart MoneyCard, issued by Green Dot, took to social media Wednesday to complain about problems they've encountered checking balances and accessing funds. The problems come at an inopportune time for Green Dot.

The bureau said Wednesday that it plans to hold a public hearing in Kansas City, Mo., to discuss small-dollar lending. The hearing will be held at the Kansas City Convention Center and will feature remarks from CFPB Director Richard Cordray, as well as testimony from consumer groups, industry representatives and the public.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development issued a proposal Wednesday to codify recent changes to its reverse mortgage program and to provide additional protections for seniors, including a cap on annual interest rate increases.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's proposal to limit the use of arbitration clauses came under attack Wednesday for potentially raising costs and liability for financial firms.

The five federal financial agencies released guidance on Wednesday that requires financial institutions to ensure they are addressing discrepancies customers sometimes face between the amount they deposit in their account and the amount they are credited.

Bank of America and Deutsche Bank AG were among five banks sued over claims that traders conspired to manipulate the market in agency bonds, which is made up of an estimated $9 trillion of debt issued by government entities and institutions like the World Bank.

Simmons First National in Pine Bluff, Ark., has agreed to buy Citizens National Bancorp in Athens, Tenn.

The banking industry has influenced several key features in the final beneficial ownership rule, a top official at the Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network said this week, while defending the rule's effectiveness.

Application programming interfaces allow software programs to talk to each other. They are a potential solution to the current industry standoff over sharing of bank customer data with aggregation sites; in the long term, they could transform how banking is done, making customer relationships less sticky but opening up new revenue models for financial institutions. This paper lays out the basic issues surrounding APIs.