Retail & Commercial

Loans to first-time homeowners and others with low credit scores are a big part of the Federal Housing Administration's growth in purchase mortgages since the agency cut premiums.

Community banks must pay more attention to their clients' problems, needs and desires. Unfortunately, too many small banks have embraced a one-size-fits all marketing model.

Algonquin State Bank in Illinois has promoted several employees in a revamping of executive management.

Marketplace lenders and other alternative finance companiesshould be perceived not as a threat, but rather as a group of pioneers opening up opportunities for those banks that elect to buy, build or partner in this market.

A proposal from city council members in Arlington, Texas would impose stronger restrictions on payday and auto title lenders, including limiting where and in what type of buildings they can do business.

SBT Bancorp in Simsbury, Conn., plans to raise about $7.5 million through a private placement of subordinated debt and $8.6 million through a public offering of common stock.

CVB Financial in Ontario, Calif., has appointed entertainment industry veteran Kristina Leslie to its board.

Even as the number of credit unions shrinks, the number of credit union branches is going up, opposite the trend in bank branching, according to new analysis.

Subprime consumers are being offered more credit cards but delinquency rates remain low, according to the latest TransUnion Industry Insights Report.

Many community banks seem to have forgotten that they are most valuable for their ability to identify customers' pain and put an end to it. But fierce competition from fintech startups like Lending Club and Kabbage offers a reminder that they cannot afford to disregard this reality.