WASHINGTON — The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has filed a massive lawsuit against more than a dozen debt collectors, payment processors and related entities that the agency said failed to stop fraudulent collection tactics.

The agency announced Wednesday it had filed a massive lawsuit against more than a dozen debt collectors, payment processors and related entities that the agency said failed to detect fraudulent collection tactics. By including processors in its suit, observers said the CFPB's move resembles the Justice Department's Operation Choke Point.

The state's banking lobby is opposing a bill that would make it easier for thrifts to hold municipal deposits because the proposal would also let credit unions go after the same business.

The Topeka FHLB's plan to allow participations in newly issued mortgage pools may benefit members institutions and the bank itself – and could soon be imitated by other Home Loan Banks.

Consumer borrowing to a record high in February, fueled by a large jump in auto and student loans. The value of non-revolving debt climbed by the most since July 2011.

Ninety-two percent of Americans are "very or somewhat confident" in their most recent big financial decision - such as picking a credit card, buying a car or refinancing a mortgage, according to a survey by the National Foundation for Credit Counseling and NerdWallet.

Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson is suing Student Loan Processing and owner James Krause for allegedly charging consumers in the state “exorbitant and illegal” fees to help with their student loan debt.

Pinnacle Financial Partners in Nashville has agreed to buy CapitalMark Bank & Trust in Chattanooga, Tenn.

The partnership with MAX Exchange is designed to enable community banks to sell their loans and get better pricing.

M&T Bank still can't get the Fed's blessing to buy Hudson City. The latest delay raises questions about Hudson City's fate and what could be going on internally at the Fed to keep the acquisition in limbo.

CBank in Cincinnati has agreed to buy Commercial Industrial Finance, a St. Louis equipment leasing and finance firm.

If a new FICO score is to succeed, it's going to have to impress the Al Engels of the world.

First-quarter earnings calls will rev up in the next week. Here are some community banks that could have a lot to say about M&A, compliance and cost cutting.

PRA Group, a Norfolk, Va.-based debt buyer, was named a Global M&A Deal of the Year recipient in the M&A Atlas Awards for last year's $1.3 billion acquisition of Norway-based Aktiv Kapital AS.

An Oklahoma tribe is fighting for the right to offer Connecticut consumers payday loans, arguing that state restrictions on its offerings of high-rate, short-term loans are financially damaging.

Banks are increasingly focusing on smartphones and tablets as the primary platforms with which to engage customers. But do they really understand how Americans use mobile devices?

Mortgage subservicers will need to do a lot more than subservice pretty soon, according to the head of the largest company in the field.

Hilltop Holdings in Lubbock, Texas, plans to issue $150 million in senior debt.

Congress should take the interests of small and midsize mortgage lenders into account as it weighs regulatory reform for community banks. Exempting smaller lenders from random CFPB audits would be a good start.

Bryn Mawr Bank in Bryn Mawr, Pa., has bought Robert J. McAllister Agency. The $2.2 billion-asset company did not say what it paid for the Philadelphia-area insurance and risk management agency.