Banking

Regulators on Friday closed Northern Star Bank in Mankato, Minn., the 18th institution to fail this year.

Empire Bancorp in Islandia, N.Y., has raised $20 million in a private placement.

Federal bank regulators increased the asset-size thresholds for the definition of a "small bank" and "intermediate small bank" for certain bank exams on Friday.

A recap of the informed opinions (and the discussions they generated) on BankThink this week.

Charlie Shrem, the former Bitcoin Foundation vice chairman who pleaded guilty to federal charges tied to the illicit online bazaar “Silk Road,” was sentenced to 2 years in prison despite his lawyer’s bid for only probation.

Charlie Shrem, the former Bitcoin Foundation vice chairman who pleaded guilty to federal charges tied to the illicit online bazaar "Silk Road," was sentenced to 2 years in prison despite his lawyer's bid for only probation.

Oil at $50 per barrel will almost definitely create problems for banks in oil-producing regions as well as Wall Street financial institutions that finance the sector. Analysts already forecast the price of crude will fall that low — the only other question is how long it might last.

Simmons First National in Pine Bluff, Ark., has extended the termination date for its purchases of two banks due to delays securing regulatory approval.

ATM company Diebold has put together a mini-branch prototype that features artificial intelligence, voice recognition and video tellers.

The $4 trillion in mortgages serviced by the largest financial institutions slightly improved in the third quarter with more loans back in performing status and fewer in serious delinquency, a regulatory report said Friday.

The Federal Housing Administration is facing severe challenges next year as some pressure it to lower premiums to deal with new competition from the government-sponsored enterprises, even while its insurance fund remains weak and it faces added scrutiny from GOP lawmakers.

The layoffs will take place across the $38 billion-asset bank's four-state service area in New York, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and Connecticut, a spokesman for the bank confirmed.

First Guaranty Bancshares in Hammond, La., has postponed its initial public offering, citing "unfavorable market conditions."

Large security incidents this year included JPMorgan Chase's August breach affecting 76 million households and seven million small businesses, Home Depot's breach of 56 million card account records it confirmed in September, and the Sony hack discovered in November, in which emails were stolen and hard drives destroyed. Here are some educated guesses about some of the security threats that will crop up next year.

Thirteen St. Louis suburbs are named in a civil lawsuit filed Thursday by Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster's office for alleged predatory traffic ticketing.

Sentry Bank in St. Joseph, Minn., has lined up its next president and chief executive.

No amount of diligence on the part of financial institutions will help prevent future data breaches until retailers are subject to the same national data security standards that apply to banks and credit unions

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is suing a Texas-based company, Union Workers Credit Services, for allegedly deceiving consumers into paying fees to sign up for a sham credit card.

A year ago we asked BankThink contributors to make bold predictions about how the financial industry would evolve in 2014. Here's a look back at their forecasts and the actual outcomes.

Benjamin Lawsky, New York's top financial regulator, sharply criticized banks for their failure to speed up the payment system, warning that the government may step in if they continue to lag behind.