Retail & Commercial

Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson sued collection agency Bradstreet and Associates on Wednesday for charging steep interest rates on overdrawn checking accounts at two big banks.

BancorpSouth (BXS) in Tupelo, Miss., has agreed to buy Ouachita Bancshares in Monroe, La.

American Express Co. said it's appealing a federal judge's order approving Visa Inc. and MasterCard Inc.'s $5.7 billion settlement that ended years of litigation with U.S. merchants over allegations that credit-card swipe fees are improperly fixed.

During the third quarter of 2013, a composite ratio of consumer delinquencies tracked by the American Bankers Association fell to a record low of 1.63%, the trade group said Thursday.

Southern National Bancorp of Virginia (SONA) in McLean has agreed to buy Prince George's Federal Savings Bank in Upper Marlboro, Md.

BBVA Compass is cutting between 400 and 600 jobs in its banking and real-estate-lending divisions.

JPMorgan Chase promoted longtime spokeswoman Kristin Lemkau to become its new chief marketing officer this week. Lemkau seeks to offset the bank's bad press, figure out a better digital-marketing strategy and improve its social-media presence after the #AskJPM Twitter debacle, she says in an interview.

Mortgage lenders are eager to make home loans this year -- but consumers may be more hesitant to borrow.

Big banks stepped up small business lending at the end of 2013, according to the Biz2Credit Small Business Lending Index released Wednesday.

As more community banks look at working with alternative lenders, they must be mindful of the regulatory and reputational risk that can occur if they make a bad referral.