Banking

Community banks are revamping branches and offering new services in an effort to become trusted advisers to small businesses. Such a transformation is often easier said than done.

A former Bank of America (BAC) employee in Massachusetts has been sentenced to three to five years in state prison for stealing more than $2 million from her clients.

The organization that runs the automated clearing house network wants to phase in same-day payments in three stages. The move follows the defeat of a similar plan in 2012.

First Commonwealth Financial (FCF) in Indiana, Pa., is bringing its corporate banking business to Ohio.

Two federal investigations into General Electric Co.'s credit card business are underway to determine if the unit violated consumer finance laws.

The number of homeowners who receive loan modifications rose to roughly 44,000 in January — up 2% from the previous month, according to a report from the mortgage industry group Hope Now.

Treasury's Bank Secrecy Act Advisory Group will include a member of the virtual-currency community to help make regulations "better informed and more effective," David S. Cohen, the undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, said today.

A breakdown of M&A announcements in the financial services industry for the week ended March 15.

United Community Financial (UCFC) in Youngstown, Ohio, has hired an outside executive to become its next president and chief executive.

Like the Postal Service, small banks must radically change their business model, expect more consolidations and mergers, focus on critical services and avoid relying on the U.S. government for help – it could make things worse.

In what is being billed as an industry first, Mountain America Credit Union closed its first electronically-signed FHA mortgages Monday under the Federal Housing Administration's new e-sign policy.

Virtual currencies will benefit from government oversight that lends credibility to the market, according to the U.S. Treasury Department's top official targeting money laundering.

A payday lending bill in Idaho, designed to dictate how much payday lenders can give borrowers, won passage in the state's House of Representatives on Monday by the slimmest of margins.

Talmer Bancorp (TLMR) in Troy, Mich., could enjoy a bigger-than-expected benefit from its purchase of Michigan Commerce Bank.

The settlement monitor gave the banks credit for $20 billion in relief — less than half the total provided, since only partial credit was given for breaks other than principal reduction.

House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas) is calling on Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Richard Cordray to end the bureau’s closed-door meeting policy for its four advisory councils.

One of Bitcoin's scariest traits is the digital currency's chaotic price fluctuations, making many consumers afraid of losing money if the price abruptly plummets.

First Republic Bank (FRC) in San Francisco is planning to sell more than 3.5 million shares of common stock.

Banks are experimenting with smartphone-driven shopping technology that provides faster and arguably more secure digital checkouts, mobile apps integrated with shopping catalogs, in-store marketing combined with location tech efforts and digital financial advice.

The bill released by Sens. Tim Johnson and Mike Crapo would create a reinsurance fund to recoup losses on securities, establish a common securitization platform for the secondary mortgage market and open access to the secondary market for smaller lenders through a cooperative.