Retail & Commercial

Signs of optimism are growing for acquisition, development and construction loans as banks hone strategies in a market transformed by the crisis.

A Mississippi woman filed a class-action complaint last week in Chicago’s federal court against finance company First Tower Loan LLC for allegedly violating the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.

Peter Randall, known for helping unleash a new era of competition for European stock exchanges in 2007, is seeking to upend the status quo yet again. This time, the goal is using the underlying technology for the digital currency Bitcoin to dramatically speed up the transfer of assets.

In order for the financial services industry to achieve its full potential in the digital age, Silicon Valley must work together with banks and lawmakers to build technology that can modernize banking infrastructure while addressing regulatory and cybersecurity challenges.

WASHINGTON — Two years after a legal challenge to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's constitutionality was dismissed by a federal court, the case is unexpectedly back from the dead.

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First Financial Bancorp in Cincinnati has agreed to buy Oak Street Holdings, a provider of commercial financing to the insurance industry.

Andrea Smith, Bank of America's head of human resources, will eventually take control of the bank's stress test submissions. That assignment, part of her elevation to chief administrative officer, has sparked concerns about whether a human resources executive can handle a job normally given to a chief risk officer or chief financial officer.

MainSource Financial Group in Greensburg, Ind., has named Erin Hoeflinger, president of Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield in Ohio, to its board and to that of its MainSource Bank.

Sun Bancorp in Mount Laurel, N.J., has appointed wealth-management executive Grace Torres to its board and to the board of Sun National Bank. Torres will join the board's audit and risk committees.