The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said Wednesday it is seeking comment on a so-called "safe student account scorecard" that colleges could use to see how banks structure the fees, features and "sales tactics" of financial products to students before forming a partnership.

Commerce Bancshares in Kansas City, Mo., is delaying the release of its fourth-quarter results while external auditors complete a review of its procedures for establishing its loan-loss allowance.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said Wednesday that it was seeking comment on a so-called "safe student account scorecard" that colleges could use to see how banks structure the fees, features and "sales tactics" of financial products to students before forming a partnership.

Plaza Bancorp in Irvine, Calif., has agreed to buy Manhattan Bancorp in El Segundo, Calif.

First BanCorp in San Juan, Puerto Rico, has created a new position to oversee strategic decisions.

Federal bank regulators will gather feedback on regulatory relief ideas at a public meeting on Feb. 4 at the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, the agencies said Wednesday.

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon had to defend the company against calls to break it up, doubts about its ability to command higher prices and greater efficiency, and investor disappointment with fourth-quarter results.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced automated teller machines by 12% last quarter as the largest U.S. bank exited from some retail locations.

The Federal Reserve's regular economic snapshot showed a moderate but consistent increase in credit quality and demand for banking services nationwide, though the report noted that sources of demand were highly variable and major financial stresses remained in some regions.

In an era where businesses are increasingly focused on cloud computing, Citigroup is turning instead to souped-up hardware in the form of IBM's newest z13 mainframe, which it says can help it better deal with the explosive growth in mobile and online transactions.

The San Francisco bank stands to gain from stronger loan growth, but Wells may no longer be able to rely on releasing loss reserves as a source of profits. Compliance costs and energy market volatility add to the complicated 2015 outlook.

A federal agency's plan to tighten membership rules for Federal Home Loan banks would hurt community banks and credit unions — and could endanger the financial system, according to a broad array of stakeholders, including state regulators, lawmakers and institutions.

Wells Fargo saw more of its origination volume come from refinancings, while JPMorgan Chase continues to rebuild its correspondent channel, the banks said in their fourth-quarter results.

The investment firm made the decision after veteran analyst Anthony Polini and an associate left to form a new research arm for American Capital Partners.

Mortgage application volume experienced the largest week-over-week gain in more than six years, but despite the FHA's announced cuts to insurance premiums, interest in conventional loans was greater.

Keefe, Bruyette & Woods and Sandler O'Neill & Partners commanded the market for bank M&A advisory in 2014, according to data published Wednesday by SNL Financial.

A ruling by the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday reversed a trial court's dismissal of a Fair Debt Collection Practices Act claim in Buchanan v. Northland Group Inc.

Small banks aren't disappearing-they're just getting bigger. Meanwhile, their large competitors are exiting business lines and selling off units. These changes suggest that regulators would be better off issuing rules based on lenders' level of complexity, relieving institutions that operate by a core banking model of unnecessary burdens.

Cream Group Inc., which operates as Oro Marketing, and its mastermind Sami Charchian have agreed to a permanent ban on telemarketing to settle FTC charges that they targeted Spanish-speaking women with false promises that they could make money reselling brand-name goods, such as Gucci and Ralph Lauren.

The holding company for 15 banks, which is approaching $20 billion in assets, has been testing cardless ATM transactions since the summer of 2013. Now, it is expanding the capability to dozens of machines — marking it the first institution in the U.S. to take the technology, powered by the vendor FIS, into production.