Retail & Commercial

Whether you're in the mood to read about the checkered history of the Vatican Bank or how Bitcoin's colorful cast of characters endeavor to shape the future of money, there's a book to suit every taste in this year's recommended reading list. Here's what American Banker's readers, staff and BankThink contributors are taking to the beach this summer.

More than 1.5 million home buyers negatively impacted by the financial crisis could re-enter the mortgage market in the next three years, according to a study that also looked at how big of an impact the mortgage crisis had on consumer credit scores.

SmartFinancial in Pigeon Forge, Tenn., has hired a chief experience and strategy officer, ahead of its planned acquisition of Cornerstone Bancshares in Chattanooga, Tenn.

Royal Bancshares of Pennsylvania in Narberth has agreed to purchase a branch in Delaware County, Pa., from First CornerStone Bank.

Discover Financial Services will exit the residential mortgage-origination business that it acquired in 2012.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. is set to revamp deposit insurance premiums to make them more risk-sensitive, targeting areas that caused institutions to fail during the financial crisis.

Beneficial Bancorp in Philadelphia has hired a former Susquehanna Bank executive as a consultant.

Discover Financial Services is closing its mortgage-origination business and will offer severance packages to about 460 employees.

A new Fifth Third social media campaign offers recent college graduates free one-on-one career counseling. The initiative is part of a trend of banks allocating marketing dollars to unusual perks and charitable giving to differentiate their brands.

Six months after rolling out new collection rules requiring collectors to - among several measures - produce loan documents or a court judgment upon request, New York regulators on Tuesday released more guidance.