Bank of Montreal said fiscal fourth-quarter profit rose 13%, led by capital markets and U.S. banking. The lender raised its dividend 2.4% to 84 Canadian cents a share.

M&A has taken off in 2015, especially in five states that account for more than a fifth of all activity. Here are the states with the most sellers, based on data compiled by KBW through Nov. 30.

Anticipation of rising interest rates has stirred more talk among mortgage lenders about the need to originate loans to borrowers with low credit scores. Mortgage lenders like Angel Oak Home Loans in Atlanta argue there is a distinction between the subprime products being pitched today and the infamous stated-income loans of yore.

The Portland, Ore., company is pitching its technology as a way for banks to enter digital lending without sacrificing their relationships with customers.

The $9.8 billion-asset Great Western said in a press release Monday that it will pay about $140 million, or $19.70 a share, in cash and stock for the $1.2 billion-asset parent of Home Federal Bank.

Did your community bank successfully complete a tech initiative this year? We would like to hear about it for possible inclusion in our upcoming special report on the Top Community Bank IT Projects.

Broadway Financial Corp. in Los Angeles has been released from an enforcement action requiring it to improve its corporate governance.

Darien Rowayton Bank used funds from a 2010 recapitalization to start refinancing student loans in a move that, so far, has been lucrative for the institution.

Evans Bancorp in Hamburg, N.Y., has hired John Connerton to become its chief financial officer.

The amount of people with loans transferred to collection agencies or debt management has more than doubled in the fiscal year ending in September.

One week after the city of Peoria, Ill. issued an edict that $1.8 million in delinquent parking fines were being sent to a state-run collections program, city officials are reporting strong early returns.

Financial Institutions in Warsaw, N.Y., has agreed to buy Courier Capital, an investment advisory firm in Buffalo, N.Y.

With the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's disclosure rule potentially slowing down the loan process, institutions need to focus on communication strategies to keep young borrowers at the closing table.

Billions of dollars are changing hands in the ATM industry, accelerating a revolution in how self-service is used in both bank branches and retail stores.

The industry won a small victory this month when the House voted to nullify Consumer Financial Protection Bureau guidance that had led to recent auto lender settlements, but the real battle over the bill and its potential impact is just beginning.

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The Senate is the next battleground for legislation requiring the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to rescind 2013 guidance on indirect auto lending, but the bill may do nothing to slow enforcement efforts.

Pacific Investment Management Co. sued Citigroup over the bank's role as trustee for $13.8 billion of mortgage-backed securities made toxic when the housing bubble burst, leading to "substantial damages."

Citywide Banks of Colorado in Denver has raised $7 million from private-equity investors.

As U.S. banks wrangle with account-aggregation sites over screen scraping, the U.K. is championing a safer method for sharing data that could transform the way customers interact with financial institutions.