Retail & Commercial

Asset growth drove the Pennsylvania bank to create software that helps it vet and monitor vendors, with automated tracking of contracts and deadlines and storage of supporting documents.

Heartland Financial USA in Dubuque, Iowa, has completed its acquisition of CIC Bancshares in Denver and made related executive moves.

Dick Evans, chairman and CEO at Cullen/Frost Bankers in San Antonio, discusses the decline in oil prices, and what it means for energy lending at the $28.6 billion-asset company.

Sunshine Financial in Tallahassee, Fla., has agreed to name a new board member in exchange for a truce with an activist investor.

Pioneer Bank in Dripping Springs, Texas, has promoted Elizabeth Blose to chief financial officer as it works to finalize a merger deal and relocate its headquarters.

Under the new model, tax preparers must pay lenders for originating loans and are prohibited from passing costs on to borrowers. But consumer advocates argue that pricing of tax preparation services is so opaque that customers could be paying loan fees and not even know it.

Bankers need to let investors know in advance what types of deals they are willing to pursue, along with the financial parameters. Doing so is a critical step in managing shareholder expectations at a time when consolidation is heating up.

Chesapeake Bank & Trust in Chestertown, Md., has named former community bank chief executive Ray Tarrach to its board. Tarrach had been president and CEO of Chestertown Bank, which was renamed Mercantile Eastern Shore Bank in 2004.

The White House and other Democrats have long pushed for banks to offer affordable small-dollar loans as an alternative to payday loans and other costlier credit, but banks have struggled to make them profitable and safe for consumers.

U.S. bankruptcy filings reached 52,522 in January, 11% lower than 59,092 filings in January 2015, according to the American Bankruptcy Institute, which used data from Epiq Systems Inc.