The DBA International Certification Council announced the approval of several firms to perform independent third-party audits as part of DBA International’s Debt Buyer Certification Program.

ESSA Bancorp (ESSA) in Stroudsburg, Pa., has agreed to buy Franklin Security Bancorp in nearby Wilkes-Barre.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency issued cease-and-desist orders against three banks in October and released seven banks from enforcement actions.

The Department of Justice and Securities and Exchange Commission are telling a U.S. Senate committee that Bitcoins are legitimate financial instruments, boosting prospects for wider acceptance of the virtual currency.

The former chairman and chief executive of the failed Summit Bank in Burlington, Wash., has been sentenced to three years in prison for concealing millions of dollars in past-due loans.

Discover Financial Services said it will provide FICO scores to customers on their monthly bill at no cost.

Pacific Premier Bancorp (PPBI) in Irvine, Calif., has agreed to acquire chain-restaurant lender Infinity Franchise Capital.

A detailed look at how the freshman senator from Massachusetts has used her first 10 months in office, including her own insights from an interview with American Banker.

JPMorgan Chase (JPM) has agreed to pay a group of financial services companies $4.5 billion to settle mortgage-repurchase and servicing claims.

The pairing of Rockville Financial in Connecticut and United Financial in Massachusetts would create a $5 billion-asset bank that can get more efficient yet invest in growth. More deals like it have been happening around the country this year.

Community Trust Bancorp (CTBI) in Pikeville, Ky., faces sanctions from the Federal Reserve Board over its assessment of overdraft fees.

WASHINGTON — Regulators on Friday announced they had finalized guidelines proposed in March that attempt to encourage banks' community development activities beyond their immediate markets.

General Electric Co. (GE) will sell as much as 20 percent of its North American consumer lending business in a 2014 initial public offering as Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Immelt shrinks reliance on financial profits.

The company lost $1 million in the third quarter as it invests in research and development for a product that would tie together mobile banking and real-time processing.

Republic Mortgage Insurance Corp. has agreed to pay a $100,000 penalty and stop providing allegedly illegal kickbacks to mortgage lenders as part of a proposed settlement with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

North Milwaukee Bancshares in Wisconsin entered into a written agreement with the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago this week.

Bill Ackman's hedge fund-firm took stakes in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government-backed mortgage insurers that investor Bruce Berkowitz is seeking to restructure, and said it may seek talks with management, shareholders and the government.

In a sign of the interest among U.S. professionals in refinancing their federal student loan debt, start-up lender Social Finance is planning its first loan securitization.

The Dish Daily, an online publication focused on technology and entrepreneurship, has partnered with BitWall to launch its Twitter "paywall," allowing readers to view articles after they tweet a link to their followers.

Online retail mortgage lender Quicken Loans continues to rack up the customer service awards.