Retail & Commercial

Summit Financial Group in Moorefield, W.Va., said its employee stock-ownership plan has acquired a stake in the company from a Louisiana bank.

Prospective borrowers for single-family homes will be required to make a minimum down payment of 15% of the purchase price, down from 20%. The borrower must have a minimum FICO score of 680, down from 740.

Heritage Oaks Bancorp in Paso Robles, Calif., has purchased of $3 million worth of its trust-preferred securities.

Washington Trust has significantly increased its deposit market share in Rhode Island in the past five years, without buying any banks, and is casting its eye across the state's borders. We talk growth strategy with the company's CEO and its COO.

Cordia Bancorp in Midlothian, Va., has named O.R. "Ed" Barham president and chief executive of Bank of Virginia.

Gallup has settled a Telephone Consumer Protection Act class-action lawsuit concerning an alleged violation of the law through use of an autodialer to call consumers. Gallup will provide a $12 million settlement fund.

The operators of a credit repair scheme that allegedly tricked Spanish-speaking consumers into paying thousands of dollars each to improve their credit have settled FTC charges.

Frontline employees shape their own work environments as well as the experiences of their customers — as demonstrated by a trip to the much-dreaded Department of Motor Vehicles.

Freddie Mac's second-quarter single-family funding was the strongest it's been in a year, positioning the company to supplant the coming drop in refinancing with purchase mortgages.

Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Vice Chairman Thomas Hoenig on Tuesday reiterated his plan for banks that stick to "traditional" banking models and maintain high capital ratios to receive eased regulatory requirements, but added an extra incentive to the mix.