Banking

The Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council announced today that it will conduct cybersecurity assessments later this year.

JPMorgan Chase (JPM) announced Wednesday that it is joining with the Small Business Administration to serve as the presenting sponsor of the SBA's weeklong National Small Business Week celebration.

The $44.5 million purchase comes as financial tech companies continue to enhance online and mobile offerings.

Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan and Chairman Charles Holliday pledged to hold the right people responsible for the $4 billion accounting error in its capital plan that hurt shareholders — but only after they carefully study what went wrong.

In a first, the state's financial firms will be required to undergo regular cybersecurity assessments to ensure that they are appropriately protecting customers' data. Banks support the effort — even if it forces them to boost IT spending.

Mortgage debt held by the elderly has soared over the past decade, driven in part by the foreclosure crisis, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said in a report Wednesday.

Xenith Bankshares (XBKS) in Richmond, Va., has named Thomas Snead Jr. chairman.

Industry boosters say the sky's the limit, as a flood of capital enables the rapid growth of peer-to-peer lending. But some skeptics are urging caution.

Banks and financial companies must "remain vigilant" against data breaches and other threats, and "there's still a lot of work to be done" to get more cybersecurity help from the government, according to Financial Services Roundtable CEO Tim Pawlenty. In this interview, Pawlenty discusses how his trade group is working with banks, retailers, regulators and legislators to improve the industry's response to hacker attacks.

An Indianapolis credit union will take a $26 million loss on default-prone loans to ITT Technical Institute students. The college's parent company was recently sued by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau for predatory lending practices.

The House of Representatives on Tuesday approved a bill that aims to make it easier for Somali-Americans and other immigrants to send money to friends and relatives in their home countries.

Higher regulatory and compliance costs may push more small banks to sell themselves or merge with larger institutions. But so far, community bank consolidation rates are following historical patterns.

The Idaho Supreme Court unanimously ruled recently that medical collection agency Medical Recovery Services cannot ask for attorney's fee that are higher than what patients paid for their care.

Collection agency Transworld Systems will take over collection services for an Indiana city, where officials hope to recoup part of several hundred thousand dollars in liens.

FIS is examining whether a public ledger like bitcoin's could help securely move funds on existing networks. Fiserv is examining bitcoin's use of encryption to ensure transfers are secure.

While Jamie Dimon and Warren Buffett express doubts about bitcoin, executives running the financial industry's back offices are looking at mimicking the virtual currency's methods of moving money quickly and cheaply.

Lenders everywhere are looking for signs of heightened loan demand, and a San Diego bank says it has found a strong one.

Online apparel retailer Cory Vines positions itself as an alternative to much larger chains, so deciding to accept Bitcoin was a logical step. It also helps that its customers want to pay with the digital currency.

Simmons First National (SFNC) in Pine Bluff, Ark., has agreed to buy Community First Bancshares in Union City, Tenn.

The nation's fourth-largest bank has opened another mini-branch in hip Washington, D.C., neighborhood teeming with young professionals. Is this the prototype for the urban branch of the future?