Banking

Facebook is giving banks anonymized data about customers' online behavior. U.S. Bank is mining its own customers' data more deeply to provide offers. Both say they let customers set the rules.

Community banks that specialize in lending to niche segments, such as professional athletes or energy-services companies, are managing to overcome the sluggish revenue growth at some of their rivals. Rod Taylor, an executive recruiter at Taylor & Co., explains.

Solera National Bancorp (SLRK) is firing back against two investors seeking control of the Lakewood, Colo., company's board.

Veteran bank analyst Terry McEvoy has left Oppenheimer to join Sterne Agee.

Korean-American banks have been challenged by an aging core customer base, which threatens growth. Hanmi Chief Executive C.G. Kum plans to respond with a national SBA program and plans to court other immigrant communities.

Work/life balance, and the payments world itself, have something in common — they are undergoing radical change, according to women executives in the industry who shared tales about leading both efforts.

Amalgamated Bank in New York has named a president to succeed Ed Grebow, but the union-owned bank is still looking for a permanent chief executive.

Lenddo, one of Bank Technology News' top ten fintech companies to watch, announced a new credit card whose application process includes crunching social media data to help determine the creditworthiness of individuals in Colombia with thinner credit files.

S corporation banks are concerned that the capital conservative buffer under Basel III — and a potential prohibition from paying tax-distribution dividends to shareholder — could cause more of them to slow growth plans or merge.

United Community Bancorp (UCBA) in Lawrenceburg, Ind., has appointed Elmer McLaughlin as its new chief executive and president.

People's Bank of Commerce (PBCO) in Medford, Ore., has restated its full-year 2013 and first-quarter earnings to reflect higher profits after correcting its reporting on foreclosed properties.

Pacific Valley Bank (PVBK) in Salinas, Calif., will restate certain earnings after a review of its loan portfolio caused it to question certain loan classifications.

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

Fears that the Federal Reserve's reduction in mortgage-backed securities purchases this year would cause rates to skyrocket failed to come true. That's partly because there's less mortgage paper to buy.

Equifax Inc. disclosed in its quarterly report that it has received a request for information from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau as part of an investigation into whether consumer reporting agencies are violating the law.

Provident Financial Services (PFS) in Iselin, N.J., reported a dip in quarterly profits because of lower fee income and higher operating costs.

Home value declines experienced during the recession have been, or are close to being, erased in nearly 20% of metro housing markets nationwide, according to Zillow Real Estate Market Reports first quarter assessment.

First Financial Holdings (SCBT) in Columbia, S.C., reported a big leap in first-quarter profits thanks largely to double-digit growth in its loan portfolio.

TowneBank (TOWN) in Suffolk, Va., said that improved credit quality helped boost its first-quarter earnings 6.3% from a year earlier, to $11.1 million.

Idaho Banking is the latest bank set to change hands through the bankruptcy process.