Opinions

Dorsey Thornton & Associates LLC, a Georgia-based collection company, entered into a $15.5 million settlement agreement with the state's Governor's Office of Consumer Protection to resolve allegations that the agency harassed and deceived thousands of consumers.

One has to admire the tenacity of the credit union lobby. Once again, a handful of very large credit unions are putting pressure on Congressional officials to pass legislation that will increase credit unions' business lending authority from 12.5 percent of their total assets to 27.5 percent. The commercial banking industry has fought off similar attempts for such expansion in previous Congressional sessions and we are working hard to do so once again.

A decision by a Georgia judge this week raised new obstacles in the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s claims against former managers of the failed Integrity Bank.

Citizens Republic Bancorp Inc. in Flint. Mich., would need to increase its size by roughly 25% to offset any costs associated with crossing the $10 billion-asset threshold, according to Chief Executive Cathleen Nash.

Sen. Richard Durbin on Thursday blasted Bank of America following a report that the firm is weighing new fees for certain checking account holders.

Community banks are warning Congress that allowing interest to be paid on such accounts will help large banks and hurt local communities, but they appear to be gaining little traction.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. Chairman and Chief Executive Jamie Dimon said new deposit fee restrictions have compelled the New York company to shy away from building new branches in lower-income areas.

In his second day of testimony, Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke provided some relief to foreign governments who have objected to the proposed 'Volcker Rule' by saying U.S. regulators were seriously considering complaints logged against the regulation.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. is embarking on an ambitious study to better understand community banks. It doing so, it's looking beyond the traditional measure — size.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Fueled by higher bank fees and the Bank Transfer Day movement, credit unions scored some of their biggest membership gains ever in the second half of 2011, NCUA reported this morning.