Retail & Commercial

A California federal judge has ordered debt relief company Morgan Drexen Inc. to pay the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau more than $173 million to resolve an August 2013 lawsuit claiming the company collected illegal upfront fees for debt settlement service and ran deceptive advertisements.

The Independent Community Bankers of America and the Credit Union National Association sent a joint letter to the Financial Accounting Standards Board urging changes to a proposal to alter how financial institutions establish reserves for loan losses.

Executives at banks that have not taken advantage of low stock prices to buy up their own shares could get hammered during quarterly earnings calls in April.

Creating a bipartisan commission to manage the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will make the agency's rules longer-lasting and place needed checks on the director's authority.

Banks change top executives all the time, but it's rare that one leaves for another venture and simultaneously gets recruited to the board of the bank he or she is leaving.

American Banker readers share their views on the most pressing banking topics of the week. Comments are excerpted from reader response sections of AmericanBanker.com articles and our social media platforms.

Old Point Financial in Hampton, Va., has agreed to nominate an activist investor's candidate for its board.

Independent Bank Corp. in Rockland, Mass., has agreed to buy New England Bancorp in Hyannis, Mass., the parent of Bank of Cape Cod, for $30.7 million.

C&F Financial in West Point, Va., has named Jason Long chief financial officer of the company and its Citizens and Farmers Bank subsidiary.

Texas Capital Bancshares in Dallas has hired a TD Bank executive to expand its lending to franchise-related businesses.