Banking

A bill aimed at altering the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's structure and limiting its powers to regulate the consumer finance industry gained approval from the House of Representatives on Thursday but is unlikely to pass muster in the Senate.

Building simplified digital experiences, especially in financial services, is critical to institutional survival.

Some governments are getting into the digital currency game, offering their own alternatives to cash with traits that differ in meaningful ways from cross-border cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin.

First Horizon National (FHN) in Memphis, Tenn., has reached an agreement with Freddie Mac related to home loans originated and sold to the government-sponsored entity between 2000 and 2008.

The founder of Pacific Commerce Bank (PFCI), Kenneth Kasamatsu, will retire at the beginning of April to pursue other interests.

Dime Community Bancshares (DCOM) in Brooklyn, N.Y., has appointed a new chief operating officer.

The National Fair Housing Alliance is accelerating efforts to force mortgage lenders, servicers and trustees to do a better job of maintaining foreclosed properties in minority neighborhoods.

The online business lender OnDeck has partnered with ProfitStars to help provide credit to small businesses that may not qualify for loans from banks or credit unions.

American Banker's Mobile Banking Intensity Index showed consumers' use of mobile banking apps picked up in December.

After pressure from Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Fed Chair Janet Yellen said she agreed with a proposal to require the central bank's board to vote on significant enforcement actions.

Banks and other financial institutions can minimize their losses on checking accounts by limiting the kinds that they offer, according to a new report from economic research firm Moebs Services.

The company lowered its forecast for credit card losses Thursday, but also acknowledged weaknesses in some of its smaller business lines such as mortgages and U.S. debit cards.

Credit unions' tax exemption looks safe again this year on Capitol Hill, but that didn't stop the American Bankers Association from mounting an intense advertising and lobbying attack that also served as rallying cry for the Credit Union National Association.

PayPal's history suggests that the problem of Bitcoin fraud will only get worse as the electronic currency gains momentum.

Calling Bitcoin a "payment innovation," Fed Chair Janet Yellen said it is not easy to supervise the digital currency because "there's no central issuer or network operation."

Federal Reserve Board Chair Janet Yellen said today that the central bank does not have the power to supervise Bitcoin, the most widely-recognized digital currency.

Executives at Webster Financial, Independent Bank and People's United agree that their retail operations have to change -- but the consensus stops there. Some are adding branches, some are cutting them, and they are all using new technologies in different ways.

The Royal Canadian Mint, which casts coins for the Canadian federal government, has started a pilot test of its MintChip digital currency. Through these tests, the Mint must make clear what this new currency is and what it is not.

BBVA's agreement to buy the online banking startup Simple will help improve its mobile banking and other technology, but the deal also highlights the stakes for other traditional banks as the industry tries to innovate. American Banker editors discuss which banks are the most forward-thinking and how other traditional financial companies can learn from startups and other disrupters.

Debt collection ranks second in the Federal Trade Commission's annual list of consumer complaints, according to the report released Thursday.