Banking

The opportunity for banks from the dramatic growth in deposits goes beyond just funding loans.

A large Texas-based debt collection law firm will pay $3.4 million to settle accusations it illegally practiced law in California without having any lawyers in the state.

As fintech pitches itself as the future of consumer financial services to bankers, regulators, legislative staffers and journalists, it's not enough to claim that innovations are better. We nontechies want an explanation why, in layman's terms.

Mortgage loan officers have gotten a lot of referral business through formal marketing services agreements. Now that these agreements have come under regulatory scrutiny, referrals are going to depend even more heavily on providing real estate agents and consumers with the best mortgage experience, as a means to generate word-of-mouth marketing.

Codorus Valley Bancorp in York, Pa., will soon have a new leader for its bank.

Having shored up capital following the financial crisis, many banks are flush with cash and in search of ways to put it to use. One option for banks that did sale-leasebacks in the past is to reacquire their branches.

Community bankers and credit unions scored a significant victory while others in the mortgage industry lost out in the Federal Housing Finance Agency's final rule establishing membership standards for the Home Loan banks.

Ford Motor Credit is rolling out a pilot program that allows small groups of people to lease a vehicle together.

Umpqua Holdings in Portland, Ore., has hired Tory Nixon, who played for the San Francisco 49ers in the 1980s, as head of commercial banking.

Valley National Bank in Wayne, N.J., has a new chief administrative officer.

Chris Bauer, who navigated Anchor BanCorp through bankruptcy and an IPO, will stay with Old National in an unspecified role. Old National, meanwhile, has added Wisconsin to the list of states where it is looking for acquisitions.

Mary Kay Bates, who had been chief operating officer in January 2014, was promoted to president of the $724 million-asset bank in Spirit Lake, Iowa.

The latest in BBVA Compass' ventures with fintech companies will bring it a simpler way to offer investment advice to the millions of households that typically don't qualify for it.

It took seven years, but the U.S. credit-card business has finally bounced back from its post-crisis hangover.

Unpaid utility bills owed by 680,000 residential electric and gas customers in Pennsylvania totaled $315 million in 2014, according to the state Public Utility Commission (PUC).

David Foss is set to become chief executive of Jack Henry & Associates in July. He will remain president of the technology and payment processing services provider.

Bridgewater Bank in Bloomington, Minn., has agreed to buy First National Bank of the Lakes in Orono, Minn.

Wells Fargo and American Express have launched their third credit card product together.

There is a lingering fear that enabling real-time transfers between consumer bank accounts will open a window for fraud that cannot be closed. But as demand for real-time payments grows, two consortiums led by large banks hope to address the banking industry's fraud concerns by developing an interoperable identity shield.

Many emerging innovators want to incorporate digital advances into the incumbent financial services sphere, not necessarily leapfrog banks.