California

Three years after acquiring Bank of the West, BMO is preparing to open 130 branches in the Golden State, where it thinks it can achieve density and critical mass. The Toronto-based bank also plans to open 15 branches in Arizona.

Credit One Bank agreed to a $10.2 million settlement after almost five years of litigation with a group of California district attorneys. The suit alleged that the bank's vendors made harassing phone calls to borrowers.

Beneficial State Bank in Oakland has reached a three-year agreement with the Communications Workers of America. The deal follows a groundbreaking union pact the bank signed in 2021.

Mary Carole McDonnell allegedly posed as a McDonnell-Douglas heiress to secure loans. The FBI believes she is currently hiding in Dubai.

FirstSun Capital Bancorp plans to buy First Foundation in an effort to accelerate its Southern California growth. The $785 million transaction follows FirstSun's failed takeover of Seattle-based HomeStreet.

The bank asks a federal court to toss claims from five certified classes, arguing victims have been paid and that fraudsters are included in the suit.

In a break from a 20-year history marked by losses and scandal, California International Bank in Westminster is on pace for its biggest-ever profit, its CEO says.

The lawsuit argues that a state law from 1967 concerning wiretapping also applies to internet tracking. Similar arguments in related cases have had mixed success.

As the city slowly recovers from January's wildfires, Banc of California is working with a local nonprofit group to help small businesses bounce back.

Offices, apartment buildings and retail locations in Los Angeles face a tangle of difficulties as the smoke clears from January's wildfires. High on the list is inadequate insurance, a common problem in California.

As climate change causes more frequent disasters, more mortgages are at risk of going underwater. How can banks limit their exposure?

When a house is lost, so is much of the collateral on the mortgage. Here's how both lenders and homeowners can bounce back.

The three-year-old Newport Beach-based institution, which secured $500 million in investor pledges to acquire peers, says more dealmaking may be in the works.

For the first time since the Eaton Fire erupted more than a month ago, Altadena has a bank branch that's open for business.

Until last month, Altadena was a flourishing melting pot. Now, with thousands of houses burned and no functioning banks, residents wonder if it will ever be the same.

Banks and credit unions also extended financial relief to Californians affected by the fires, which have killed 28 people and burned thousands of homes.

The insurance market going into the Jan. 7 catastrophe already had been hit with non-renewals and cancellations -- and an overburdened state-supported insurance plan. A Morningstar analyst said the state insurance commissioner's reform strategy could have turned it around but now faces new obstacles.

High winds continue to impede firefighters' progress in the Pacific Palisades and Eaton fires.

Bankers are putting pre-established action plans for disaster recovery into motion as wildfires in Los Angeles sweep across the region.

Amendments to New York's cyber rules — and a focus on privacy in California — mean banks must enhance risk controls, encryption and customer protections.