Wells Fargo, the biggest U.S. residential lender, has stopped offering most customers the interest-only version of its home-equity line of credit.

A group of investment firms has forced American Bancorp. into liquidation over unpaid trust-preferred debt. Creditors have threatened to go this route before but this is the first time any have followed through, serving as an ominous precedent for the up to 300 banks in danger of defaulting on the hybrid securities.

Mercantile Bank (MBWM) in Grand Rapids, Mich., has finally completed its acquisition of Firstbank (FBMI) in Alma, Mich.

Deposits and assets have fallen, and some customers and employees have fled, while Hudson City in Paramus, N.J., has been stuck in an M&A limbo. But the situation might save buyer M&T Bank some headaches later — if it can just close the deal.

More than 40% of the 2 million recently modified mortgages facing interest-rate resets are underwater, according to Black Knight Financial Services data.

Innovative branch design and technology won't win the day alone. Finding the right manager and staff is still the key factor in creating a thriving branch.

Astoria Federal Savings (AF) in Lake Success, N.Y., has changed its name to Astoria Bank.

Los Alamos National Bank in New Mexico named community banking veteran John S. Gulas as its next chief executive officer.

A payday lending operation affiliated with a Native American tribe is liable for engaging in deceptive practices and violating federal law by failing to disclose loan terms, U.S. District Judge Gloria Navarro in Las Vegas has ruled.

A new law in Connecticut is designed to reduce unsolicited commercial phone intrusions by banning text messages.

Banks that drive customers away with pre-recession practices should clean up their act or get ready for competitors to use their missteps against them.

The city of Los Angeles accused JPMorgan Chase & Co. of targeting minority borrowers with predatory loans in a lawsuit filed Friday in U.S. District Court.

The Seminole Tribe of Florida is reportedly seeking approval to form a bank and buy Valley Bank in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

Lenders are doing a much better job closing the loan applications they are getting, and they are doing so in a shorter period of time. Tight credit has not increased the risk that a loan will fail to close.

Under Roy Malone's direction, Golden Pacific Bancorp last year introduced an online lending platform that vastly speeds up the approval process for borrowers seeking Small Business Administration loans ranging from $5,000 to $150,000.

NBT Bancorp in Norwich, N.Y., has prepaid about $165 million in Federal Home Loan Bank borrowings.

CrowdCurity is applying the core principle of Bitcoin—decentralization—to security by offering a crowdsourced marketplace of global security testers.

Creating a more efficient way to do the same old thing isn't enough, says David Gerbino. Banks need to reconstruct some of their basic deposit products to truly innovate.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has closed Slavie Federal Savings Bank in Bel Air, Md.

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