Banking

UMB Financial (UMBF) Kansas City, Mo., has a new chief financial officer.

Contrary to sensationalistic headlines, community banks remain the lenders of choice for small businesses, who appreciate these institutions’ expertise and personal attention.

Cash Store Financial Group, which operates Cash Stores and Instaloans in British Columbia, Canada, has been ordered to repay more than $1 million to B.C. customers after allegedly charging them exorbitant interest rates on payday loans and charging extra to load the loans onto debit cards.

A U.S. district court judge in Florida has issued a contempt order against Bryon Wolf and Roy Eliasson, two people who operated a deceptive marketing scheme since 2009.

Attorneys Rusty Conner and Michael Reed are bringing their expertise in bank M&A and capital markets to law firm Covington & Burling.

The Idaho Department of Finance closed the $153.4 million-asset Syringa Bank in Boise on Friday. It was the first bank closed in the state in nearly five years.

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There are too many things in M&A that buyers cannot control, including the willingness of the right targets to sell, economic conditions and the likelihood that desire will interfere with good due diligence, two Midwest bankers warn.

Bank of America Corp.'s proposed $8.5 billion settlement with mortgage-bond investors, including BlackRock Inc. (BLK) and Pacific Investment Management Co., was approved by a New York state judge, except for some loan modification claims.

AltaPacific Bancorp (ABNK) in Santa Rosa, Calif., has agreed to buy Mission Oaks Bancorp (MOKB) in Temecula, Calif.

Shares in prepaid card issuer Green Dot (GDOT) tumbled Friday amid fears that the firm would need to keep spending heavily to stave off new competitors, such as T-Mobile.

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

WSFS Financial (WSFS) in Wilmington, Del., realized some of the benefits of its M&A strategy last quarter.

The central bank of Estonia, where Swedish banks dominate the lending market, urged consumers to steer clear of Bitcoin and similar virtual currencies, warning such software could prove to be little more than a "Ponzi scheme."

Banks could eliminate delays when setting new customers up with online or mobile banking if they could better verify their personal information during the sign-up process, according to new research from Experian Data Quality.

Investors Bancorp (ISBC) in Short Hills, N.J., which is poised for a second-step conversion, saw quarterly profits soar on big loan growth.

The Federal Housing Administration's long-awaited decision to start accepting electronic signatures on mortgage documents will cut down on costs and streamline operations for banks and other mortgage lenders. But the industry still faces several hurdles before it can reap the benefits of this technology upgrade.

For some, 2013 may be remembered as the toughest regulatory year on record. New regulation will likely slow this year, but scrutiny is expected to rise.

The likes of Apple and Amazon are becoming bigger threats to incumbent payments companies, but MasterCard CEO Ajay Banga says his company views these players as potential allies.

Salisbury Bank and Trust (SAL) in Lakeville, Conn., has agreed to purchase a branch from Union Savings Bank in Danbury, Conn.