A recap of the informed opinions (and the discussions they generated) on BankThink this week.

The federal government has broken up a fraud ring in which a key figure was a Wells Fargo (WFC) employee who opened accounts for her accomplices.

Anchor BanCorp Wisconsin in Madison has completed a $175 million recapitalization. With funding from private and institutional investors, the company has capital levels above the threshold regulators consider for being well-capitalized.

Lenders should be on the lookout for an increase in mortgage applicants who lie about their incomes, according a new quarterly report from CoreLogic.

While lawsuits citing violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) fell in August on both a monthly and yearly comparison, Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) lawsuits are rising fast, according to data from U.S. district courts.

Several institutions in one of the nation's hardest-hit banking markets have shed enforcement actions, or have hired new leaders, as they attempt to stage comebacks.

U.S. Bancorp (USB) in Minneapolis has hired Bank of America (BAC) executive Michael Righi for two important West Coast jobs.

A Treasury Department program that supplies credit to small businesses spurred $1.9 billion in loans and created or saved 53,000 jobs in its first 18 months of operation, the department says.

The Federal Housing Administration is asking for a $1.7 billion draw from the U.S. Treasury for the end of the fiscal year, up from an earlier estimate in President Obama's April budget.

Expand by acquisition or through organic market penetration. The most successful banks will include both strategies in their future plans.

Democratic lawmakers including Senator Elizabeth Warren today demanded that eight U.S. banks produce information about agreements they may have with colleges to encourage students to use their products.

Because third-party processors are on the hook for losses from fraudulent transactions, they have as much interest in eliminating bad actors as anyone.

Investors Bancorp (ISBC) in Short Hills, N.J., and Roma Financial (ROMA) in Robbinsville, N.J., have extended the deadline for their merger while they wait for regulatory approval.

Two Ohio tax service store managers have been indicted on federal fraud charges related to tax returns they prepared in 2011. The tax and loan scheme cost the government more than $250,000.

A federal court has halted a scheme involving a non-existent money-lending service that allegedly conned more than $6 million from U.S. and Canadian consumers.

Hampton Roads Bankshares (HMPR) in Virginia Beach, Va., didn't have to look far to find its permanent chief financial officer.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Thursday denied an appeal made by several Native American tribal lenders who were seeking to block a civil investigation into their online payday lending practices.

The Federal Housing Administration is facing a bailout for the first time in its almost 80-year history, raising a host of fresh questions about the potential for standalone legislation to the reform the agency.

One PacificCoast Bancorp (OPCB) in Oakland, Calif., has received regulatory approval to acquire a controlling stake in Albina Community Bancorp (ACBC) in Portland, Ore.

The Federal Reserve Board has ordered SunSouth Bancshares of Dothan, Ala., to strengthen its board.