Retail & Commercial

Middlefield Banc Corp. in Middlefield, Ohio, has bought out its largest shareholder.

Empowering women to become more financially independent has been a hallmark of Lori Chillingworth's career as a small-business banker. Now she's on an even bigger mission: to help more women in Utah gain seats on corporate boards and compete for political office.

A group of private investors has agreed to buy Radius Bancorp in Boston.

Republic Bancorp in Louisville, Ky., has agreed to buy Cornerstone Bancorp in St. Petersburg, Fla.

Robo-advisers have myriad conflicts of interest and fall short of the standard of care under fiduciary investment law. The Labor Department's endorsement of these algorithmic investment guides seems curious and misplaced.

Fifth Third Bancorp has agreed to pay nearly $85 million to settle fraud charges related to undisclosed defective Federal Housing Administration-insured loans.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's impending proposal, to be reviewed by a small business advisory panel, would block companies from using arbitration clauses to avoid class actions but allow them for individuals.

MBT Bancorp in Monroe, Mich., is planning to close four branches. The $1.3 billion-asset company also said it would stop offering retail services at a corporate office in Wyandotte, Mich.

A pair of community banks have lined up funding through separate subordinated-debt agreements with a firm in the Cayman Islands.

The central bank originally established a 10-year time horizon for completing upgrades to the nation's aging electronic payment system. But a task force convened by the Fed thinks that's not ambitious enough.