Retail & Commercial

PL Capital, a big investor in Banc of California, is proposing that the Irvine company adopt majority, rather than plurality voting, for the election of directors.

Boston Private Financial Holdings is expanding its footprint in California, opening a new office in Los Angeles on June 1. The company will have 35 offices nationwide, including 14 on the West Coast.

Fed up with the hassles of applying for a multitude of state licenses and relying on bank partners, fintech firms are increasingly interested in applying for a national bank charter — and federal regulators are considering ways to accommodate them.

A debt collection agency will pay civil penalties and be required to adopt new procedures to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that it violated the requirements of the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

State Bank Financial in Atlanta just hired a lending team that will take its SBA lending operation to the next level. The moves comes as the SBA reports a record number of 7(a) loans.

The Clearing House, Dwolla and Ripple Labs are among more than 20 companies that are vying to play a lead role in modernizing the U.S. payment system.

At least three U.S. banks are preparing to go to market with new small-dollar installment loan products in a move that could potentially disrupt the payday lending industry.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.’s request for input on mobile financial services allows banks to promote how their mobile app helps the underserved, which is a plus when seeking merger approval.

The FCC released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on Friday concerning the use of modern dialing technologies when contacting consumers on cell phones about student loan debts, mortgages, taxes and other debts owed to or guaranteed by the government.

Farmers National Banc in Canfield, Ohio, has agreed to buy Bowers Insurance Agency in Cortland, Ohio.