Retail & Commercial

Tuesday's action against the alleged bait-and-switch mortgage-lending scheme includes two companies and the owner of both of them.

The bank M&A world can be challenging for private-equity vehicles because they trade lower than some of the more aggressive traditional buyers. Talmer Bancorp in Troy, Mich., announced a cash deal last week that pushed its stock up more than 5%, perhaps helping its hand in future stock deals.

First National Community Bancorp in Dunmore, Pa., showed that there is still life left in some charged-off loans.

Potentially higher legal costs are making it more difficult for banks to compete with those that have less demanding litigation settlements and regulatory penalties.

M&F Bank in Durham, N.C., has named James H. Sills III as its president and chief executive.

WASHINGTON — Amerisave Mortgage Corp. and its owner have been ordered to pay more than $20 million for allegedly overcharging borrowers and trapping them in higher interest rates than those advertised.

Social media sites, including Twitter and Facebook, have been enticing but sometimes hostile environments for payments innovation. Some startups are pushing past the platform providers to appeal directly to their users.

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network has proposed forcing banks to identify those standing behind legal entity accounts, but also made a slew of accommodations meant to make the rule more palatable.

Even though refinance loans account for the majority of mortgage applications, the refi boom has long been over, and depressed origination volume will keep it that way for some time.

Centrue Financial in Ottawa, Ill., said Monday that it has agreed to sell $75 million of its common stock to the New York private-equity group Capital Z Partners.