Small banks don't have the budgets of large-bank competitors, but with nimbleness and creativity they are sometimes first out of the gate with innovative technology, from real-time payments to biometric authentication. We scoured the land for examples of tech-savvy community banks and chose the following 10 standouts.

On the acquisition trail, Minnesota's Frandsen Financial picked up nine legacy imaging systems. A new system and shared database unlocked many years' worth of archived checks and statements.

Getting employees used to using fingerprint scanners was the biggest challenge to Clear Lake Bank's biometrics project.

With a strong financial commitment and a goal of "building cool stuff," the Boston community bank hopes to continue to innovate.

Using Splunk Cloud, Orrstown is trying to go beyond merely monitoring network traffic at a time when cyber threats keep mounting.

The Boston bank has become one of the few to let customers open accounts by snapping a photo of their driver's license.

One in three struggling homeowners who received a loan modification through the Home Affordable Modification Program ultimately redefaulted on those loan.Meanwhile, the program that was supposed to help some 4 million families avoid foreclosure has helped only a fraction of that amount, according to a report presented to Congress.

An Illinois bank has pioneered the use of a mobile app that queues up ATM transactions.

The acquisitive Bank of North Carolina is using a new iPad and desktop app to help its frontline employees make product recommendations to customers.

The Connecticut lender overhauled its enterprise risk management system after becoming frustrated with inefficient spreadsheets.

The bank that got Moven and Simple off the ground is coming out with real-time payments, through a clever use of debit networks.

Digit, a startup in San Francisco targeting millennials, has launched a service that crunches checking account data to determine daily amounts to automatically transfer into users' savings accounts. Its debut points to how personal financial management services are growing up to do the work on the consumer's behalf.

A senior regulatory official on Wednesday continued the alarm bell over the brisk growth in auto lending, suggesting that some lending terms could be setting up banks for trouble.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued a proposal Wednesday aimed at improving the way that companies submit consumer credit card agreements to the bureau.

A contingent of former Corinthian Colleges Inc. students, backed by student advocates and more than a dozen Senate Democrats, has demanded that the U.S. Department of Education forgive thousands of federal student loans taken out by Corinthian students.

Banks would likely not see an immediate effect from the Federal Communications Commission's open Internet plan, but experts say it could prevent future discriminatory moves by carriers that want to compete more in offering financial services.

Doral Financial's future took another blow after the Puerto Rican company disclosed that its bank is now viewed by regulators as being "critically undercapitalized."

Officials in Elmhurst, Ill., a Chicago suburb, are looking at hiring a new collection agency to pursue overdue parking tickets and other delinquencies.

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Richard Cordray discussed CFPB enforcement efforts and the pending rules for the debt collection industry, which are expected to be issued this year, during the National Association of Attorneys General meeting.

Capital One has received requests for information from federal regulators about its anti-money-laundering program and check casher clients, as authorities lean on banks to do a more thorough job policing their customers — and their customers' customers.