ZestCash says it's the Google of alternative lending. Its rival BillFloat says it's Facebook.

At the eleventh hour, only days before the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau opens, President Barack Obama officially nominated Richard Cordray to serve as director of the CFPB. But the appointment still requires Senate confirmation, and that will take time.

Hingham Institution for Savings in Massachusetts said Thursday that its second-quarter net income rose 22.6% to $3 million, from a year earlier, on growth of both deposits and loans.

Simmons First National Corp. in Pine Bluff, Ark., said Thursday that core earnings in the second quarter declined 4.6% from the same period last year, to $6.2 million.

The Federal Reserve on Thursday announced that it had entered into a written agreement with a banking company while also disclosing the termination of a prior order.

Analysts question effectiveness of the card, but note it could be just a first step into more credit offerings.

eBay's boss doused some cold water on NFC mobile payments, saying large merchants will resist.

On the one-year anniversary of the Dodd-Frank Act, Democratic lawmakers and key financial regulators called on Congress to resist Republican efforts to cut funding to implement and enforce the law's sweeping new regulations.

VIST Financial Corp. in Wyomissing, Pa., notified investors Thursday that it is planning to raise up to $30 million in a stock offering.

The insurer wants to sell its depository but keep writing mortgages. Essentially, it’s making a bet on regulatory arbitrage — the idea that certain categories of institutions can dodge scrutiny being placed on their competitors.

The Treasury Department has ordered board appointments to two banking companies that have missed dividend payments on its bailout investments.

BillMyParents says the former marketing executive of the publisher of the Guitar Hero games is running its marketing operations.

The Small Business Jobs Act set aside a $30 billion fund designed for smaller banks to lend to small business owners when it passed last September.

Six Federal Home Loan banks have launched a salvo against Bank of America Corp.'s proposed $8.5 billion mortgage bondholder settlement, suggesting the payout may need to be triple that amount.

Sandy Spring Bancorp Inc. said Thursday that second quarter net earnings rose 32%, to $8.3 million, compared with a year earlier after it slashed its provision by 80%.

Retailers will have better results observing customer behavior and basing their sales strategy upon that evidence than if they try to stay ahead of the curve by predicting what consumers want or will want in the future.

Banner gained $1.9 million from fair value adjustments on certain financial instruments, which played a key role in its quarterly profit of $224,000.

PNC is encouraging card customers to link to Virtual Wallet to access more security alerts.

Shares of Astoria Financial Corp. were down in heavy trading Thursday after the Lake Success, N.Y., company reported second-quarter earnings that fell well short of analysts' estimates.

Fair Isaac says systems it developed with Postbank have helped reduce fraud on consumer loans.