Banking

WASHINGTON — Congress passed legislation late Thursday that will expand community bank access to the debt markets in order to finance acquisitions.

A bankruptcy court judge sunk investors' hopes in their latest lawsuit against Lehman Brothers, which they claim broke contracts in junk mortgage-backed securities sold during the bubble years.

AmeriServ Financial in Johnstown, Pa., is making leadership changes as its chief executive plans to resign early next year.

Two River Bancorp in Tinton Falls, N.J., has received regulatory approval to redeem half of the preferred stock it issued under the Small Business Lending Fund program.

Royal Bancshares of Pennsylvania in Narbeth could be looking for a new chief risk officer.

An estimated 43 million people carry delinquent medical debt on their credit reports and medical bills account for nearly half of all overdue debt on the reports, according to a study released Thursday by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

On its face, the House vote late Thursday to approve a spending bill that included an unrelated provision written by Citigroup was a big legislative victory for the bank and its fellow Wall Street behemoths. Yet it’s also a victory that comes at a high price.

Many disruptive technologies come from startups, but just as many seem to come from companies that have been around for decades. Whether developing a new system in-house or providing a necessary proving ground for a partner, these older companies are bringing fresh innovations to the payments industry.

Renaud Laplanche is a happy if somewhat tired man. The company he founded, Lending Club, exceeded most expectations by closing its first day of public trading at $23.43 after starting at $15. But challenges lie ahead for his company and others in the alternative lending space.

Investors in the failed Tennessee Commerce Bank have reached a tentative agreement to resolve a two-year-old class action involving the bank.

Two companies that allegedly ran scams promising debt relief for student loan borrowers are named in separate enforcement orders announced Thursday by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

The KYC Registry is the next flagship in financial crime compliance, delivering on our commitment to provide community-wide solutions for the industry, says SWIFT CEO Gottfried Leibbrandt.

Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Mel Watt's decision Thursday to stand up the affordable housing trust funds sharply divided lawmakers along party lines, with Democrats welcoming the decision as overdue while Republicans denounced it as a mistake.

WASHINGTON — The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau took action Thursday against two companies for allegedly running "scams" that promised relief for struggling student loan borrowers.

LendingClub Corp. soared to an $8.52 billion valuation after its initial public offering, shining a spotlight on the fast-growing peer-to-peer lending industry and setting a high bar for a company that aims to transform banking.

Georgia once was known as the state hit with the most bank failures. Renasant's agreement to buy Heritage Financial in Albany, Ga., is the latest of several deals where buyers have paid strong premiums to enter or expand in the state.

Tangerine, Simple, American Express and Discover are some of the financial institutions that use Apple's Touch ID fingerprint-authentication technology to let consumers replace passwords or to add security.

Microsoft is working with Bitcoin merchant services provider BitPay to allow customers to seamlessly exchange the virtual currency when loading money into their Microsoft accounts.