WASHINGTON — Higher interest rates and elevated litigation expenses at one large bank last quarter led to the industry's first year-over-year earnings decline in more than four years.

Capital One Financial (COF) has a new chief of Canadian operations, Shane Holdaway.

Alliance Bancorp Inc. of Pennsylvania (ALLB) in Broomall will face a proxy challenge from activist investor PL Capital.

First Merchants (FRME) in Muncie, Ind., has exited the Small Business Lending Fund.

ViewPoint Financial (VPFG) in Plano, Texas, has agreed to buy LegacyTexas Group in Plano.

The Amazon Coins digital currency is now available for consumers in the U.K. and Germany to buy mobile applications and make in-app purchases on the Kindle Fire tablet and on Amazon.com Inc.'s regional app stores.

U.S. residential properties sold at an estimated annualized pace of 5,649,965, a 2% increase from the previous month and up 13% from October 2012, according to RealtyTrac.

The president and chief executive of Sun Bancorp (SNBC) in Vineland, N.J., is stepping down at the behest of the board.

A longtime chairman and chief executive at HomeTrust BancShares (HTBI) in Asheville, N.C., has retired.

The positive reaction to Independent Bank Group's $170 million agreement to buy BOH Holdings shows how precrisis M&A valuation methods are returning and that the industry is getting stronger.

A former employee at an Ohio branch of U.S. Bancorp (USB) pleaded guilty Friday to charges that he accepted $24,000 in kickbacks from debt collectors in exchange for giving them business.

Underwriting standards on auto loans will slip in 2014 as increased competition pushes lenders to take more risk, according to Moody's Investors Service.

HSBC USA (HSBC) in McLean, Va., has hired a longtime Citigroup (NYSE:C) executive, William Brown, to lead its U.S. branch network.

As credit cards defaults and delinquencies continue to wane, banks and retailers are growing increasingly more confident in extending credit to consumers.

Lenders’ choices today are stark: Make Qualified Mortgage loans and risk being sued under the disparate-impact doctrine; make non-QM loans and risk being sued under the ability-to-pay-doctrine; or sell their loans to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Heartland Financial (HTLF) in Dubuque, Iowa, has purchased a bank of River Valley Bancorp in Davenport, Iowa.

The U.S. lags far behind much of the world in transferring funds rapidly from the bank account of one party to another's. Times vary by bank, but recipients commonly wait days to receive payments. Here's a look at five countries where consumers and businesses enjoy close to real-time to transferred funds.

Ed Grebow abruptly left the New York bank after just two years. The union-controlled bank, backed by private equity and stabilized by its departed CEO, wants a leader who can generate a return on investment.

The final six of 10 defendants named in an alleged “Rachel from Cardholder Services” scam have agreed to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that they misled consumers with bogus claims that they would lower their credit card interest rates.

Fifth Third Bancorp (FITB) in Cincinnati has agreed to pay $25 million to Freddie Mac to resolve mortgage repurchase claims.