Banking

Western Union said it's not in talks to acquire smaller rival MoneyGram International. Bloomberg reported Tuesday that Western Union is in early-stage talks to buy the company, as both contend with competition from upstart money-transfer companies.

WASHINGTON — Financial Crime Enforcement Network Director Jennifer Shasky Calvery said Wednesday that Internal Revenue Service examiners are conducting bank-like exams of virtual currency firms for possible anti-money laundering violations.

China's government plans to allow foreign card-payment networks to process domestic transactions. But companies like Visa and MasterCard will have a tough time capturing a percentage of China's explosive payments market.

Collection agency J.E. Robert Co. Inc., also called JER Revenue Services, faces a lawsuit that charges that firm with inflating attorney fees owed by residents in New York who were late on their water and sewer bills.

WASHINGTON — More than 26 million consumers are effectively "credit invisible" because they have no credit record and another 19 million are "unscored" because they have an insufficient or stale credit history, according to a report released Tuesday by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

A new study shows nearly half of consumers have checked their credit score in the past year, a sign that access to scores is getting easier for consumers.

Western Union is in early-stage talks to acquire smaller rival MoneyGram, people with knowledge of the matter said, as both companies contend with stiff competition from upstart money-transfer companies.

To survive and thrive, community banks must follow the lead of nonbank mortgage lenders by embracing digital technology and customer convenience.

Achieva Credit Union in Dunedin, Fla., has agreed to buy Calusa Bank in Punta Gorda, Fla.

Digital currency firm Ripple Labs just made history—but not the kind it's been hoping for.

U.S. authorities have fined the San Francisco startup $700,000 over violations of the Bank Secrecy Act, according to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network's Tuesday press release.

Lending Club stayed on its fast-growth trajectory in the first quarter, as loan originations and operating revenue more than doubled from the same period a year earlier.

The CFPB found that more than 26 million consumers are effectively "credit invisible" because they have no credit record and another 19 million are "unscored" because they have an insufficient or stale credit history. But it's unclear how the CFPB plans to tackle the issue.

After the early exuberance surrounding Apple Watch, banks and vendors are ramping up testing of bank apps on other wearable devices and everyday objects, preparing for a day in which most everything is connected to the Internet.

Vincent Delie, CEO of F.N.B., discusses the costs of and difficulty in complying with size-related regulations, his outlook for acquisitions and the Baltimore market.

A new analysis of college debt levels details how an income-based student loan repayment system could help borrowers.

Earnings at HSBC's North American operation fell 12% in the first quarter. Details about the unit's future restructuring are due next month, but executives offered reassurances Tuesday that they don't plan to divest it.

The Chicago-area community bank, which started in the basement of a church as a savings and loan 117 years ago, has started a series of free webinars to give people guidance to free themselves from debt.

Western Independent Bankers, a consortium of about 130 community banks in 13 western states, has entered into a deal to use the marketplace lender LendKey to underwrite and service auto loans.

There will always be a need for small-dollar loans. But loans that trap people in debt and burden borrowers with triple-digit interest rates are simply abusive.