Monetary incentive plans are vital for keeping your best employees, but sometimes other gestures that cost basically nothing make a bigger impact.

Over the last several months much has been made about the New York BitLicense.

The $12.6 billion-asset United said in a press release Monday that it will pay $269 million, or $37 a share, in stock for the $1.2 billion-asset Bank of Georgetown.

The $9.3 billion-asset Bank of the Ozarks said in a press release Monday that it will pay $402.5 million, or $25 a share, in stock for the $1.7 billion-asset C1 Financial.

National Bank Holdings in Greenwood Village, Colo., has negotiated an early termination of the loss-share agreements that backed up its acquisitions of two failed banks.

Forget "bigger is better." Several private-equity-backed lenders are making loans to small landlords, who represent the biggest chunk of the home-rental market and get less help from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac than they once did.

Boston Private Financial Holdings' president, Mark Thompson, has announced plans to retire at the end of the year.

Buying stolen data is an effective way for banks to determine the source of a breach. But fraudsters are increasingly putting up roadblocks because such deals might make it tougher for them to break in next time.

Parke Bancorp in New Jersey decided to sell its SBA lending business when it realized the group had national aspirations. Berkshire Hills Bancorp, a larger bank in Massachusetts, was pleased to buy the unit.

Traditional installment lenders are fixtures in their communities and verify borrowers' ability to repay, which cannot be said of payday lenders.

Banc of California in Irvine has named James McKinney its new chief financial officer. McKinney joined the $6.4 billion-asset bank in September as chief accounting officer.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's current approach to carrying out new authority under the Dodd-Frank Act to punish "abusive" behavior is likely not sustainable.

Grayson Bankshares in Independence, Va., and Cardinal Bankshares in Floyd, Va., have agreed to merge to form a new holding company.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board's proposal to start loss reserves when a loan is originated is antithetical to banks making localized financial decisions.

Ohio regulators announced the filing of a lawsuit Friday against Buffalo, N.Y. collection agency Rotech Holdings Ltd. for allegedly harassing and misleading Ohio residents.

Confidence in the U.S. economy appears to be rising amid low gas prices and a strong dollar as Americans stepped up their borrowing pace in September, according the the Federal Reserve’s G.19 consumer credit report.

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The unprecedented accommodative interest rate environment has spurred banks to offer long-term loans at very low rates of return, and if the cost of funds goes up — especially if it goes up more dramatically than expected — it could put depository institutions in a tough position.

Sometimes it's for the best to end a complicated relationship. At least that's the view of some bankers who have negotiated early terminations of their FDIC loss-sharing agreements.

Meta Financial Group in Sioux Falls, S.D., has promoted Cindy Smith to the newly created position of head of technology and operations.