Banking

Mere days after disclosing that Google Inc. purchased Softcard's technology and intellectual property, the telcos' mobile wallet venture began publicly disclosing its plans to shut down.

American Banker readers share their views on the most pressing banking topics of the week. Comments are excerpted from reader response sections of AmericanBanker.com articles and from our social media platforms.

Change is coming to the credit card industry following the government's recent antitrust victory against American Express, but the next few weeks could determine how deep the changes are — and who wins and loses.

Summit Financial Group in Moorefield, W.Va., has been freed from a five-year regulatory order.

Bancorp of New Jersey in Fort Lee is looking to raise $9.5 million through a private placement.

Bankwell Financial Group in New Canaan, Conn., didn't have to look far to find a permanent leader.

The Bank of England will research whether issuing a digital currency such as Bitcoin would help it achieve its monetary policy, financial stability and regulatory goals.

Amid heartbreaking tales told by distressed homeowners and reverse mortgage holders, many community groups praised OneWest CEO Joseph Otting for spending time speaking to them and hearing their communities' concerns.

Bank of America said former Chairman Charles O. Holliday is leaving the board of directors along with Clayton S. Rose.

The Federal Housing Administration's recent premium reduction is undercutting the private sector and expanding the government's role in the housing market, housing finance industry representatives told a House subcommittee on Thursday.

A court-imposed deadline for American Express to negotiate a fix to its merchant rules with the Department of Justice is about three weeks away. Odds of a deal are said to be low, heightening uncertainty — and fueling debate — about how the showdown will affect the future of the credit card business.

Plumas Bank in Quincy, Calif., is looking to convert its loan-production office in Reno, Nev., into a full-service branch.

Prosper Marketplace, an online lender for consumer loans, has found a new source of referrals: community banks.

The Bank of England will research whether issuing a digital currency such as Bitcoin would help it achieve its monetary policy, financial stability and regulatory goals.

The Northeast has always been a competitive market for deposit gathering. Loan growth and the potential for rising interests are forcing banks in the region to find new ways to bring in low-cost liquidity.

As you can guess from the title of his book, "BitCon: The Naked Truth About Bitcoin," author Jeffrey Robinson takes a caustic view of the Internet currency and payment system. He explains why he thinks Bitcoin's real-time, public ledger is insufficiently transparent for law enforcement in the first of three parts of a conversation with American Banker's Marc Hochstein.

Federal and state regulators filed lawsuits against two debt collection rings for allegedly using threats and abusive language, including falsely stating that consumers would be arrested. The operations collected more than $45 million in supposed debts, according to the complaints.

Doral Financial suffered another setback as a Puerto Rican court ruled that the company is not entitled to a $230 million refund tied to overpaid taxes.

Problems related to loan servicing dominate the consumer complaints about mortgage companies made to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, but an agency official expressed optimism about the industry's response to these grievances.

The Massachusetts senator recently argued that community banks have little need for regulatory relief. But a closer look at recent FDIC data shows that the health of small banks has taken a turn for the worse in the aftermath of Dodd-Frank.