Retail & Commercial

BB&T's smaller competitors are convinced the Winston-Salem bank is moving the decision-making on commercial loan applications to its headquarters. They say they've been able to steal customers from BB&T as borrowers are frustrated with the red tape. BB&T's president denies this and says it's as committed to community banking as always.

PayPal's making moves to respond to the maturation of virtual currencies, entering into agreements with Bitcoin payment processors BitPay, Coinbase and GoGoin.

A debt collection operation that used fake names and threatened consumers into paying debts they often did not owe can no longer perform any collection work under a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission.

BBCN Bancorp in Los Angeles has signed a memorandum of understanding with the city of Seoul aimed at expanding the bank's business in South Korea.

Can gaming make credit card purchases fun? At least one community bank is delivering its marketing via a mobile game. SimpliSavvy, Bank of Hawaii's new app, comes as banks across the nation are trying to capture more credit card business.

Kentucky State Sen. Reggie Thomas, D-Lexington, pre-filed a bill with the Kentucky General Assembly to cap the amount of interest charged by payday loan lenders.

PayItSimple, a credit card installment provider based in Herzliya, Israel, has announced its launch in the United States.

Rep. John Delaney said Tuesday that he's "optimistic" Congress could take up reform of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac next term, despite the political difficulties lawmakers have faced in getting legislation approved over the past two years.

The payments industry has changed dramatically over the past year, and so has the mindset of those in the industry. The focus is shifting from mobile payments and Bitcoin to fraud mitigation and security.

BNP Paribas SA, the French lender fined a record $8.97 billion for U.S. sanctions violations, is preparing to name a successor to Chairman Baudouin Prot as soon as this week, Le Figaro reported.