Bankers are fighting back against a plan that would allow Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to invest in low-income housing tax credits, arguing they are critical for meeting Community Reinvestment Act requirements.

A federal court halted a Chicago-area operation that allegedly threatened consumers to collect phony payday loan debts and provided portfolios of fake debt to other debt collectors. It's the FTC’s first case alleging that practice.

The ability to program value exchanges without risk of censorship, moderation or theft gives smart contracts a leg up in servicing users who lack a mainstream banking association.

An Iowa man, who battled the Iowa Department of Revenue for three years over taxes he argued collectors never should have demanded he pay, received a $5,000 reimbursement this week from his former employer.

In many cases, customers aren't staying with a bank's brand because they are satisfied. They are staying with the brand because it's too hard to leave.

Wells Fargo has agreed to pay the state of California $8.5 million to settle a probe into its failure to tell consumers it was recording their calls.

Western Alliance Bancorp. in Phoenix has agreed to buy GE Capital's hotel franchise finance loan portfolio.

ESSA Bancorp in Stroudsburg, Pa., has a new chairman and two new independent directors.

ConnectOne Bancorp in Englewood Cliffs, N.J., has exited the Small Business Lending Fund program.

Opus Bank in Irvine, Calif., has hired Jeffrey Zaks, a CIT Group banker, to lead its new media and entertainment lending group.

The CFPB's latest monthly report on complaints from consumers focuses on debt collection complaints.

Credit unions have a dominant auto lending presence in the West, boasting as much as a 50% market share in some areas. Credit Union Journal explores what is driving that dominance.

The Coalition for Safe Loan Alternatives intends to become a peer-to-peer forum for best practices among the alternatives to payday loans. The group will not advocate for policy changes. Rather, it aims to offer a platform for local organizations to share information and compare ways to offer low-cost access to credit.

A court ruling that struck down key sections of a Missouri law limiting the ability of cities to profit from court fines and traffic tickets will be appealed by Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster.

A recent meeting with the OCC is giving mutual thrifts hope that they can find a way to bring in more capital before the next recession. The OCC, while open to a solution, is keen to protect the rights of those institutions' deposit holders.

Robertson Banking Co. in Demopolis, Ala., has given its president, Gary Holemon, the additional title of chief executive.

The president and chief banking officer at Heritage Oaks Bancorp in Paso Robles, Calif., plans to leave the company next month.

HomeTrust Bancshares in Asheville, N.C., will name a the former North Carolina market president for Fifth Third Bancorp to its board, along with two other professionals.

Bankers are warming up to a program that aims to improve the credit profile of entrepreneurs while giving banks a new way to compete with online lenders.

Those criticizing the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's governing structure object to the idea of a regulatory agency successfully protecting consumers and the public interest.