Retail & Commercial

Collection agencies and debt buyers collecting from people in Arkansas must have a license to operate in the state if they want to legally do so, the Arkansas Supreme Court has ruled.

Albina Community Bancorp is one of few lenders to recapitalize and sell its bank despite an overhang of trust-preferred debt at the parent company. Still, an investor is threatening to force involuntary bankruptcy — a sign of just how tough it is for banks to escape the trust-preferred trap.

CertusBank in Greenville, S.C., has agreed to sell its mortgage and wealth businesses as it tries to move past its history of high expenses and heavy losses.

FAIRHAVEN, Mass. — SJB Federal Credit Union has merged into Southern Mass Credit Union in Fairhaven, Mass., creating an institution with approximately $207 million in assets.

Yield-seeking investors have fueled a niche bond business that is financing community banks, through the sale of higher-risk, subordinated debt. It is unclear whether the banks need all that capital.

The U.S. faces a dearth of minority-owned banks, and new ones are unlikely to emerge anytime soon. Therefore all financial institutions should step in to ensure that the needs of minority communities are being served.

BBCN Bancorp in Los Angeles has appointed two new board members.

Tim Pawlenty, the former Minnesota governor turned bank lobbyist, is backing down from an election-style campaign against the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau after complaints from the firms he represents.

Small banks and credit unions can get a leg up on their large competitors by using low-cost, low-maintenance checking accounts to win over financially underserved customers.

The city of El Paso, Texas is reviewing whether to make a zoning change that would limit where payday and auto loan companies can operate.