Retail & Commercial

SAN FRANCISCO — Want to improve the customer experience? Start by making the employees' tools better.

The $22 billion-asset company said in a press release Thursday that it is looking to sell 8.4 million shares of common stock, though it could sell another 840,000 shares if there is enough demand.

Lawsuits can be costly and time-consuming for all parties, so many plaintiffs’ attorneys are now trying to win quick settlements for their clients by bombarding banks with letters simply threatening them with lawsuits. One plaintiffs’ attorney admits to sending 250 such letters a month.

A dozen publicly traded banks have raised more than $1 billion in recent weeks, taking advantage of surging stock prices. Additional banks are expected to follow, setting the stage for more M&A and other growth moves.

Already defending itself against a lawsuit challenging its member business lending rule, the credit union regulator now must grapple with a challenge to field-of-membership regulations. Some observers suggest the scope of the legal approach is unprecedented.

When BankMobile, the brainchild of Jay Sidhu and his daughter Luvleen, relaunches on a new platform in January, security — especially for the onboarding process — will be completely redesigned.

First Bancshares in Hattiesburg, Miss., has exited the Troubled Asset Relief Program, thanks partly to an assist from another bank.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency faces a challenging task as it attempts to add financial inclusion requirements to its pending fintech charter without following the exact blueprint of the Community Reinvestment Act.

AltaPacific Bancorp in Santa Rosa, Calif., has promoted its chief operating officer an even bigger role.

WASHINGTON — Development on the Common Securitization Platform has reached a point where Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac may be able to issue a uniform mortgage-backed security sometime in 2018, the Federal Housing Finance Agency said Thursday.