Banking

CFBank in Fairlawn, Ohio, has been released from a cease-and-desist order issued by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.

Bank of Montreal is in talks to buy F&C Asset Management Plc, manager of the oldest U.K. investment fund, for about 697 million pounds ($1.2 billion) in what would be the second-largest takeover in its 196-year history.

The Postal Service could raise $8.9 billion annually by offering reloadable debit cards, loans, remittances and other financial services products that target the underbanked, according to a report issued Monday by the agency's Office of Inspector General.

Lakeland Financial (LKFN) in Warsaw, Ind., reported higher quarterly profit driven by loan growth.

Chemical Financial (CHFC) in Midland, Mich., reported net income Monday of $14.4 million for the fourth quarter, 14.3% better than a year earlier.

A number of community banks have removed CEOs, announced plans to sell or reached compromises with dissident shareholders in recent weeks. And proxy season has yet to hit its stride.

Payment processor First Data has agreed to pay JPMorgan Chase (JPM) millions of dollars in order to settle a hiring dispute, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday.

Data breaches may be impossible to prevent, but there are ways to block card fraud from following. Andy Mattes, chief executive of ATM manufacturer Diebold, shares his views on how to secure ATMs and POS terminals.

Hanmi Financial (HAFC) in Los Angeles reported dip in quarterly profits because of costs related to its planned acquisition of Central Bancorp.

Federal legislation is needed to enhance cyber-threat information sharing so that good-faith responsive actions and information sharing will not trigger legal liability.

A new accounting framework could give banks a leg up in small-business lending by making it cheaper for companies to provide accurate financials, but accounting experts are divided over whether the standards are an improvement or risky and confusing.

Waterstone Financial (WSBF) in Wauwatosa, Wis., disclosed that its chief financial officer is resigning.

Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine's says his office has collected more than $1.3 billion in debts owed to state government offices.

Michaels is investigating a possible data security attack, CEO Chuck Rubin said in a letter to customers.

Experienced community bank executives know that failure to manage their bank’s sensitivity to interest rate risk can cause financial troubles.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon, who got a 74 percent raise for his work in 2013, stands to reap a separate and bigger payday within months.

VantageSouth Bancshares (VSB) in Raleigh, N.C., and Yadkin Financial (YDKN) in Elkin, N.C., are merging.

Predictions of marauding hackers are overblown, but banks do have good reason to beef up security on their Windows XP ATMs before Microsoft drops support for the operating system in April.

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. -- Banks are reducing their number of branches to increase efficiency and boost sluggish revenue growth, according to a new report from SNL Financial.

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