Retail & Commercial

Prairie Community Bank in Marengo, Ill., has raised $2.48 million in a private placement of its preferred stock.

Clients of many community banks in Illinois can apply for short-term loans as lawmakers grapple over issuing paychecks while the state has no budget.

Sunshine Financial in Tallahassee, Fla., has asked for permission to switch to a state bank charter from a federal thrift charter.

Some housing professionals have grown reluctant to participate in the Federal Home Loan Banks' Affordable Housing Program, objecting to burdensome requirements and rules that are inconsistent with other funding sources. It's time for the Federal Housing Finance Agency to make some updates.

Signature Bank in New York has formed a subsidiary to specialize in municipal finance and hired three executives for the division.

Piper Jaffray has agreed to buy River Branch Holdings, a Chicago investment bank that focuses on financial institutions.

Regency Financial Services Inc. and its CEO Ivan Levy agreed to a permanent ban on telemarketing and the advertising, marketing or sale of any debt relief products or services.

CommonBond Chief Executive David Klein discusses the company's strategy to cross-sell financial products to the firm's student loan borrowers, many of whom are young and affluent.

The health care system is riddled with excess capacity, huge legacy costs, out-of-control expenses and regulations even more onerous than those in banking. And just as in banking, high-tech startups are shaking up the system.

Banking experts are starting to look into cryptocurrency tech, and they are hedging their bets by finding uses for both the public blockchain models – like Bitcoin – and private models.