Banking

First Republic Bank in San Francisco has bought Gradifi, a two-year old firm that works with small and large companies to help their employees pay down student debt.

Banks aiming to market internally developed products to other banks are also taking steps to become better vendors. Leader Bank, for instance, took more than a year to get its technology and staffing up to snuff before pitching its rent-payment program.

The core-tech vendor Fiserv has agreed to buy Online Banking Solutions in Atlanta.

Bankers who are working to transform their institutions for the digital age have a new resource for networking and education.

Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce stands by its cash-and-stock bid to buy U.S. lender PrivateBancorp and is willing to wait out a market rally to complete the deal, Chief Executive Officer Victor Dodig said.

While other banking laws may be headed to the chopping block, the Community Reinvestment Act can address the needs of communities defined by their economic struggles.

In a move to boost recruitment and retention while keeping up with the corporate Joneses, American Express said it will offer 20 weeks of paid leave to any U.S. employee of either gender who has a child through any means, including adoption and surrogacy. Birth mothers will get an additional six to eight weeks of paid medical leave on top of that.

A New Jersey investor has received approval from the Federal Reserve to significantly boost its stake in MSB Financial in Millington, N.J.

Manufactured housing advocates are "guardedly optimistic" that the Federal Housing Finance Agency will soon issue a long-awaited final rule that they hope will expand the secondary market for mobile homes.

Ally Financial is now making home loans.

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: Tesco's issues with account numbers; India incents e-payments; clearing house seeks faster-pay partners; Chrome strengthens retail security warnings.

The focus of banks' sales practices should be less about unit-based incentives, and more about developing a full relationship with customers and doing what's in their best interest.

HomeTrust Bancshares in Asheville, N.C., has agreed to buy United Financial of North Carolina, a municipal lease finance company based in Fletcher, N.C.

Orrstown Financial Services in Shippensburg, Pa., has acquired Wheatland Advisors in Lancaster, Pa.

Federal banking regulators are dismissing claims that they are pressuring banks to cut ties with payday lenders, arguing that the lenders' recent request for a court order against the agencies rests on erroneous speculation and bad legal arguments.

After news of possible reductions in withdrawl limits, casino stocks suffered steep losses.

Large banks will soon launch Zelle, their person-to-person payments app. Will it succeed or will it be another name on a growing list of such platforms that never panned out?

A week after the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency created a new federal charter for fintech firms, California's financial regulator is calling on other states to work together in making their licensing system more palatable to companies.

OnDeck Capital, the New York-based online small-business lender, has obtained a $200 million revolving debt facility from Credit Suisse.

As regulators open the door to fintech firms applying for bank charters, what has already been a long journey to this point is only going to get more intense.