Umpqua Holdings (UMPQ) in Portland, Ore., continues to ramp up in commercial real estate lending at a time when many other banks are shying away from the sector.

Robin Zager has spent more than a decade on a bank board in New Jersey. Earlier this week, she discussed why there is a lack of female directors and how she handles being a part of a male-dominated board.

Former Salomon Brothers trading star Valerie Thompson used investment banking as the backdrop to her steamy new novel.

The Alabama company’s management team used a conference appearance to discuss plans to expand in credit cards and auto lending, while assuring investors that it has turned the corner in the Southeast.

For the first time in nine months, fewer homeowners are making their monthly mortgage payments on time.

Three prominent private-equity groups that already own significant stakes in Hampton Roads Bankshares (HMPR) have agreed to pump another $50 million into the Norfolk, Va., company.

The announcement is surprising as it follows so soon after hefty penalties were assessed against many other banks for their overdraft programs.

The federal agencies treat PE players as "slippery" characters, impose "draconian" limits on them and make the troubled European economy more appealing for bank deals, investor Ross says.

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To address investor preference for Fannie Mae mortgage-backed securities over Freddie Mac bonds, the GSEs' regulator, Federal Housing Finance Agency, could create a single instrument that includes loans guaranteed by both.

Daryl Byrd, the CEO of Iberiabank (IBKC) says a wave of bank mergers is inevitable and will be larger than expected. Rusty Cloutier, his counterpart at MidSouth Bancorp (MSL), says a lack of able buyers is miring consolidation.

In a legal filing, the OCC made its argument that regulators acted appropriately when they closed the Denver thrift in early 2010.

Green Dot Corp. said Monday that it has signed a new multi-year distribution deal with Dollar Tree Inc. and extended its contracts with other partners.

Yahoo said it is selling up to half its stake in Alibaba Group back to the company.

Small-business owners are struggling to grow and hire — and they're blaming difficulties in securing financing, according to a Pepperdine University business school survey.

Banks are doing what they can to avoid depressing home prices, by focusing on reducing foreclosures rather than flooding the market with their backlog of properties.

A government watchdog is recommending the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau implement several additional internal controls to avoid misappropriation of assets or inaccurate financial statements.

The number of women serving as bank directors has hardly changed in the past decade and this year's annual meetings are doing little to move the needle.

Efforts to bring back a private-label residential mortgage-backed securities market have not been quick or wholly successful at this point. But they are persistent, which is why they will ultimately succeed.