Banking

Western Alliance Bancorp. in Phoenix has agreed to buy GE Capital's hotel franchise finance loan portfolio.

ESSA Bancorp in Stroudsburg, Pa., has a new chairman and two new independent directors.

ConnectOne Bancorp in Englewood Cliffs, N.J., has exited the Small Business Lending Fund program.

Opus Bank in Irvine, Calif., has hired Jeffrey Zaks, a CIT Group banker, to lead its new media and entertainment lending group.

The CFPB's latest monthly report on complaints from consumers focuses on debt collection complaints.

Credit unions have a dominant auto lending presence in the West, boasting as much as a 50% market share in some areas. Credit Union Journal explores what is driving that dominance.

The Coalition for Safe Loan Alternatives intends to become a peer-to-peer forum for best practices among the alternatives to payday loans. The group will not advocate for policy changes. Rather, it aims to offer a platform for local organizations to share information and compare ways to offer low-cost access to credit.

A court ruling that struck down key sections of a Missouri law limiting the ability of cities to profit from court fines and traffic tickets will be appealed by Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster.

A recent meeting with the OCC is giving mutual thrifts hope that they can find a way to bring in more capital before the next recession. The OCC, while open to a solution, is keen to protect the rights of those institutions' deposit holders.

Buyers of certain syndicated corporate loans have had an incentive to drag their feet closing trades; they will soon pay a hefty price if they don't do their part. The reform should help lenders get assets off their books faster.

Robertson Banking Co. in Demopolis, Ala., has given its president, Gary Holemon, the additional title of chief executive.

The president and chief banking officer at Heritage Oaks Bancorp in Paso Robles, Calif., plans to leave the company next month.

The Depository Trust & Clearing Corp. and Digital Asset Holdings are targeting the repurchase agreement market as the latest use case for a blockchain solution.

HomeTrust Bancshares in Asheville, N.C., will name a the former North Carolina market president for Fifth Third Bancorp to its board, along with two other professionals.

Bankers are warming up to a program that aims to improve the credit profile of entrepreneurs while giving banks a new way to compete with online lenders.

Those criticizing the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's governing structure object to the idea of a regulatory agency successfully protecting consumers and the public interest.

With energy stocks enjoying the biggest rebound since the beginning of the oil rout, short sellers have shifted their sights to regional banks that do business with the industry.

Hancock Holding is warning of more pain in its energy portfolio as low prices continue to hamper oil and gas firms’ ability to repay their loans.

As online business lenders grow in number, size and prominence, a new trade group is being launched to represent their interests in Washington.

The U.K. bank's new business unit takes advantage of the massive amount of data it stores to offer a new array of products and services, including managing customers' digital identities.