Banking

Old Second Bancorp in Aurora, Ill., raised $45 million from a debt sale.

Pacific Metro Bank would cater to Chinese-Americans around Atlanta. The application process is worth watching since the group is seeking the first Georgia charter in seven years and would be based in a market where more than 90 banks have failed since 2007.

Borrowers served by the FHA program, particularly first-time buyers and minorities, have benefited from nonbanks' increase in lending. Those independent lenders should be commended for filling a gap.

Welcome to the new PaymentsSource Morning Briefing, delivered daily. The information you need to start your day, including top headlines from PaymentsSource and around the Web. Today: Citi invests in blockchain; 'fast EMV' draws Brookstone; Postmates offers a virtual gift card; the U.K. publishes a guide to payments.

American Banker readers share their views on the most pressing banking topics of the week. Comments are excerpted from reader response sections of AmericanBanker.com articles and our social media platforms.

Travelers passing through Grand Central Terminal at the height of the evening rush hour Thursday were met with the sound of beating drums and war whoops from several dozen Native Americans protesting the Dakota Access Pipeline. They had traveled all the way from the Dakotas, they said, to bring their case to the Big Apple.

The $14.3 billion-asset company said in a press release Thursday that it will sell about 4.3 million shares of common stock.

Bankers got what they asked for when the Federal Open Market Committee raised the federal funds rate by 25 basis points this week, but some banks could face near-term pain as securities portfolios lose value and certain hedging strategies backfire. Moreover, the rate hike won't have a meaningful impact on net interest margins until loan demand picks up.

It is time for financial services to rethink retirement savings given changing work habits, customers' expectations of technology and the need for better transparency in 401(k)s.

A startup aims to highlight the social impact that banks have to allow easier vetting by prospective customers; community banks like Jill Castilla's are getting income from being tech vendors; and Amex is making its parental leave policies better next year, in a move that just might be an emerging trend. Plus, Wonder Woman loses her U.N. job … because of the way she dresses.

Capital Business Credit, a New York-based business finance company, has been acquired by a San Francisco-based lender.

Colony Bankcorp in Fitzgerald, Ga., has bought back more of its former Troubled Asset Relief Program shares held by private investors.

Ed Francis, a former executive at Hancock Holding, is seeking to buy an existing bank rather than pursue a new charter. He explains why he is prefers a complex bankruptcy process over applying to form a new bank.

First Internet Bancorp in Fishers, Ind., disclosed in a regulatory filing that it is looking to raise $25 million capital through a stock offering.

To convince graduates that working for a bank might be better than joining a startup, lenders are keen to show new hires they are technology companies first, and banks second.

It is not a clear-cut statement to say Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac need more capital, and it detracts from the real debate over long-term housing finance reform.

A prominent activist investor has pared back its stake in three banks.

Welcome to the new PaymentsSource Morning Briefing, delivered daily. The information you need to start your day, including top headlines from PaymentsSource and around the Web. Today: Yahoo 'believes' card info not hacked; U.K. startup wants 'drone debit'; Ashley Madison settles; Australia loosens fintech rules.

The National Credit Union Administration rule expanding member business lending introduces new risks and lacks legal basis.

Bay Commercial Bank in Walnut Creek, Calif., has agreed to buy First ULB in Oakland, Calif.