A white paper released Thursday said the agency might issue new guidance on fintech product development, third-party risk management and new products targeting the underbanked; streamline its licensing procedures; and appoint experts on "responsible innovation." It is still deciding whether to open an office dedicated to monitoring the fintech sector.

To help make instant payments a reality, regulators here and abroad should encourage multiple approaches, thus avoiding the temptation to mandate a single solution.

Brickell Bank in Miami has bought a trade finance portfolio from the investment brokerage firm INTL FCStone.

Blue Ridge Bankshares in Luray, Va., has agreed to buy River Bancorp in Martinsville, Va.

Regulators are right to target overdraft and other fees as obstacles to banks offering affordable checking account options, but that’s just the beginning in developing transactional products that work for consumers.

HarborOne Bank is proving that financial education really can improve the bottom line.

Scammers pocketed $3.8 million from troubled homeowners nationwide and did nothing to modify their loans, according to the special inspector general for the Troubled Asset Relief Program.

Franklin Financial Network in Franklin, Tenn., plans a debt issuance to pay for its recently completed exit from the Small Business Lending Fund and to fund other activities.

Enterprise Bancorp in Lowell, Mass., has purchased the site of a former hotel that recently burned to the ground and plans to put a new branch there.

The payments pioneer is transforming its merchant cash advance into a business loan, a move that has significant legal and regulatory implications.

The management team at Western Alliance Bancorp. has decades of experience with hotel development. The company's pending purchase of a large loan book — and expansion into national hotel lending — will be scrutinized in coming years.

First State Bank of DeKalb County in Fort Payne, Ala., has agreed to buy First Bank of the South in Rainsville, Ala.

Optimizing content for the mobile browser home page and its app is one of several changes Wells Fargo has been making this quarter. The updates underscore the growing importance of mobile.

Word that Hancock Holding in Mississippi would more than double its loan-loss allowance has triggered broader questions about how the oil slump could spread beyond the energy portfolios of a whole class of banks.

Fannie Mae has unveiled a mortgage for borrowers who want to finance energy and water efficiency improvements to their homes.

The CFPB has ordered Student Aid Institute Inc., a company accused of preying on student loan borrowers, to shut down, cancel all contracts and stop participating in the industry.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Wednesday ordered a San Diego student debt relief company to shut its operations, cancel all contracts and cease participating in the industry.

Former Oklahoma governor and American Bankers Association chief Frank Keating has been named a director of BancFirst in Oklahoma City.

Model legislation in the works would give state legislatures a template for regulating virtual currency businesses. The Treasury is lobbying against clear exemptions for firms that don't control customer funds.

Huntington Bancshares has partnered with the owner of the NBA's Detroit Pistons to provide $25 million in financial support in Flint, Mich., in response to the city's drinking water crisis.