Banking

Wells Fargo in San Francisco said that its chief information officer will retire at the end of March.

The success of a new blockchain-technology initiative will hinge on the ability of many influential players to work together: IBM, Digital Asset Holdings, R3, other tech companies, banks, Swift, the London Stock Exchange and the Linux Foundation.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has ordered payday and pawn lender EZCorp Inc. to pay $10.5 million for alleged illegal debt collection tactics.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced Thursday that it had fined one of the largest dealer-finance companies, CarHop, $6.5 million for inaccurately reporting consumer credit data.

Digital Asset Holdings is reportedly seeking a $35 million funding round that would put the blockchain technology startup’s valuation at $100 million.

LifeLock Inc. agreed Thursday to pay $100 million to settle FTC charges that it failed to properly protect its customers’ data and misrepresented the strength of its security. It's the largest order enforcement case to date to come out of the FTC.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's payday loan proposal threatens many money services businesses on the front lines of stopping money-laundering and terrorist financing.

Litigation citing violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, Telephone Consumer Protection Act and Fair Credit Reporting Act dropped in November compared to October but remain significantly higher year-to-date.

TowneBank in Suffolk, Va., has agreed to buy Monarch Financial Holdings in Chesapeake, Va., for $220.6 million in stock.

EZCORP Inc. has responded to the $10.5 million settlement with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau related to its payday lending and installment lending practices.

Now is not the time for the Federal Housing Administration — which has stayed strong amid turmoil — to reduce its market share.

Hanmi Financial in Los Angeles has withdrawn its proposal to merge with BBCN Bancorp. Hanmi said in a press release Thursday that its decision follows BBCN's agreement to buy Wilshire Bancorp.

Ally Financial, seeking new sources of customers, will finance used cars sold through Beepi, an 18- month-old website that lets people buy vehicles with a few clicks and no test drive.

The latest blockchain technology initiative has IBM, Digital Asset Holdings, R3 and other tech companies working with banks, Swift, the London Stock Exchange and the Linux foundation to jointly create open-source software meant to be used to quickly bring new blockchain software to market.

Seventeen colleges will receive warning letters this week from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau stating they may be in violation of federal law for not disclosing agreements they have with credit card companies.

Credit risk, interest rate risk and cybersecurity concerns pose growing risks, according to a semiannual risk report issued Wednesday by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.

Green Dot is giving its chief financial officer job to Mark Shifke, who has been the firm's acting CFO for the last seven months.

House Republicans attacked the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Wednesday, arguing the agency is not able to safely secure the anonymous bulk data it collects on consumers' financial activities.

First Bancorp in Southern Pines, N.C., has agreed to buy Bankingpoint, an insurance agency in Sanford, N.C.

Under the direction of Richard Holbrook, Eastern Bank has prepared itself for the next 200 years by embracing a culture innovation, adding scale through acquisitions and advocating for the less fortunate in its community. It's an unusual formula, but it has worked and that's why he is one of American Banker's three Community Bankers of the Year for 2015.