Banking

The state's superintendent of financial services has softened his stance toward bitcoin and other payment startups and has already shortened New York's money transmitter license application review process, which used to take nine months.

Hampton Roads Bankshares in Virginia Beach has named John Marshall Jr. as chief risk officer. He succeeds Robert Bloxom, who retired from Hampton Roads at the end of September.

AnchorBank in Madison, Wis., has agreed to sell its Richland Center retail branch to The Peoples Community Bank.

The New York Department of Financial Services will likely institute an on-ramp for new Bitcoin businesses — and possibly any other kind of money transmitting startups — as a way for them to launch without being burdened by costly licensing requirements.

Puerto Rico's economy has been in disarray for eight years, and it's taken many banks down with it. OFG weathered the financial crisis and is considering how to capitalize on its status as the island's healthiest bank.

The fate of a New York City law governing debt collections is headed to New York's highest court to answer questions resulting from Berman v. City of New York, a lawsuit brought five years ago by a collection law firm challenging the city's statute regulating collection attorney activities.

MoneyGram is offering a technology platform that enables banks and retailers to offer alternative financial services beyond just money transfers and bill payments.

Thanks to the rise of online and mobile banking, some banks now have significant customer bases in areas where they have little branch presence. The solution is to carve out a category of virtual banks that have tailored CRA responsibilities and examination standards.

Suffolk Bancorp in Riverhead, N.Y., has sold its wealth management business to a unit of Provident Financial Services in Jersey City, N.J.

A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit by the founders of CertusBank that claimed they were fired as part of a racist conspiracy at the Columbia, S.C., company.

Chemical Financial in Midland, Mich., has agreed to buy Monarch Community Bancorp in Coldwater, Mich.

New York may grant transitional licenses to small virtual-currency firms and startups to let them grow before facing the full burden of new regulation, the state's top financial watchdog said.

New York may offer transitional licenses to small virtual-currency firms and startups to let them grow before facing the full burden of new regulation, the state’s top financial watchdog said.

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MVB Financial and CFG Community Bank have terminated their purchase-and-assumption agreement, a year after announcing the deal.

Bank of Colorado in Fort Collins announced Friday that it is buying the $234 million-asset MontroseBank in Colorado's western slope.

Lenders could face tougher enforcement and higher penalties if they make errors on the new mortgage disclosure forms that are slated to go in effect next August.

The Financial Services Information Sharing and Analysis Center is calling attention to the security risks and potential fixes to a common practice: consumers handing over online banking credentials to financial advice sites.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. on Friday released its list of enforcement actions from September, including a consent order that played a role in derailing two planned acquisitions.

Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Mel Watt has struck a conciliatory tone, seeking lenders' input and making loan-buyback rules more industry-friendly — a clear signal the administration thinks it needs bankers' help to reignite the tepid housing recovery.