Bank of America said Friday it would pay $2.43 billion to settle a shareholder lawsuit over its purchase of Merrill Lynch, in an expensive effort to resolve one of many problems it faces from the financial crisis.

The $15.9 billion-asset bank said Thursday that Lisa Etre, William McCarthy and Jessica Ruiz have joined Signature from Hudson Valley Bank (HVB) in Yonkers, N.Y., and that Dennis Sheridan has joined from Valley National Bank (VLY) in Wayne, N.J.

Broadway Financial in Los Angeles earned $1.4 million in the second quarter. A year earlier, the $391 million-asset company lost $2 million.

Roma Financial Corp. (ROMA) said that one of its banks has entered into a written agreement with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.

MainSource Bank in Greensburg, Ind., has agreed to buy the assets managed by Krumme and Brock Investment Services in Seymour, Ind. The employees of the Krumme firm, including owners Galen Krumme and Cliff Brock, would join MainSource Bank's wealth management division.

United Community Bancorp (UCBA) of Lawrenceburg, Ind., is suspending the payment of dividends on its common stock until the company completes a pending second-step conversion.

Business activity in the banking sector increased in August for the third straight month, according to industry executives surveyed for American Banker's latest Index of Banking Activity.

eAppraiseIT provided real estate appraisals to a former mortgage lending giant during the run-up to the housing crisis will pay $7.8 million to settle charges that its appraisers conspired with the lender to puff up home values.

Tri Counties Bank in Chico, Calif., will pay as much as $2.5 million to settle a class-action lawsuit that claims it failed to properly pay overtime.

The CFPB flexes its muscle in a Discover deal, Sheila Bair blasts a double standard for hurting small banks and mortgage settlement overseer Joe Smith weighs in on progress to date.

DUNEDIN, Fla. – Fast-growing Achieva CU is scheduled to break ground this morning on a $10 million, 67,000-square-foot headquarters project near its old Clearwater offices.

Under the landmark settlement with MasterCard and Visa, retailers could soon start surcharging customers for paying with plastic. Here's why that could be bad news for PayPal.

An unnamed investor will inject $5.5 million into the troubled Anchor Commercial Bank in North Palm Beach, Fla., through a subscription agreement.

Hampton Roads Bankshares in Norfolk, Va., has completed its $45 million rights offering, though its private-equity partners were the largest contributors.

Aquiline Capital Partners, a private-equity firm based in New York, is buying First Investors Financial Services Group, a Houston auto lender, for $100 million.

A bipartisan group of 53 senators is calling on banking regulators to consider the impact that proposed Basel III capital standards will have on community banks.

User input from a pair of tech firms says a vast majority of lenders who are moving toward automated processing have an eye on the stew of mortgage rules that mandate more disclosure and tighter processing.

Banks are growing increasingly worried that the failure to stem impending tax hikes and steep budget cuts could reduce lending demand, savage profits and cripple M&A activity.

The $1.5 billion-asset Fidelity said it plans to consolidate its existing branch in Liberty, N.C., into the newly acquired location less than a mile away.

Forget the chitchat, find seasoned bankers (especially from your previous employer) and invite them over to meet the CEO — that's the recruiting formula Rodney Rushing uses at ServisFirst.