Retail & Commercial

As far as digital currency has come, the passing of bitcoin for purchases is still a relatively primitive transaction.

M&A momentum is building, even among larger banks that have been sidelined for years.

Merchants Bancshares in South Burlington, Vt., has named an interim principal financial officer after its chief financial officer resigned.

Live Oak Bancshares in Wilmington, N.C., one of the largest 7(a) program lenders in the U.S. last year, has promoted Greg Thompson to chief operating officer.

Associated Banc-Corp in Green Bay, Wis., will increase its fourth-quarter allowance for loan losses by $13 million to compensate for potential late payments or defaults on loans in its energy portfolio.

Patriot National Bancorp in Stamford, Conn., said that its chief financial officer resigned this week and that it has hired a former Connecticut community bank executive to replace her.

A compilation of our favorite stories of 2015, as selected by the people who assigned and edited them.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board is giving a handful of community banks a chance to explain why a plan to change the accounting for loan losses will result in major hardship. The proposal would force banks to record a loan-loss provision once a loan is originated, rather than when a loss becomes probable.

A three-year legal battle between FIS and Fiserv that was recently resolved highlights the importance of intellectual property rights in a banking industry that is increasingly growing reliant on technology.

The FTC and the State of Florida on Friday charged a payment processing business with credit card laundering and illegally assisting and facilitating a nationwide debt relief telemarketing scheme that allegedly bilked millions of dollars from consumers.