Banking

Sterling Financial (STSA) in Spokane, Wash., fell short of fourth-quarter earnings expectations because of a hefty charge for early repayment of debt.

Stimulus spending and Obamacare are making health care a viable way for banks to diversify their loan portfolios.

Iberiabank (IBKC) in Lafayette, La., reported a jump in fourth-quarter profit thanks to higher fee income and lower interest expenses.

Opus Bank in Irvine, Calif., has reshuffled its mix of branch office locations, as it enters Arizona and expands in the greater Los Angeles and Seattle areas.

In previous articles I spoke of banking and bankers. The following vignettes present some bank customers I encountered during my banking days, including a rabbi, a nun, a hotshot attorney and a philanderer.

The chairman and chief executive of Coatesville Savings Bank in Pennsylvania has resigned after eight years leading the bank.

As Regions rolls out online personal financial management tools, an executive shares his long-term vision for how they will be folded into the bank's broader Web offering.

Bank of America CEO Brian T. Moynihan said the "underlying fundamentals" of the U.S. economy are still improving and bankers have plenty of funds to lend.

Bank of the Ozarks in Little Rock, Ark., is raising its profile in North Carolina. The $4 billion-asset company announced Friday it is buying The First National Bank of Shelby in Shelby, N.C., for roughly $67.8 million in cash and stock.

Trustmark (TRMK) has received approval from regulators to buy BancTrust Financial Group in Mobile, Ala. The Jackson, Miss., company had waited months for approval to by BancTrust Financial Group (BTFG).

Visa Inc. is urging its shareholders to reject a proposal by activist investors that would require the card network to reveal detailed information about its lobbying activities.

Nacha, the electronic payments association, issued guidelines for the use of quick-response (QR) codes for consumer bill payment.

A new chorus of "too big to jail" broke out among the masses as the president prepared to re-nominate Richard Cordray to run the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and CapOne disclosed disappointing earnings.

What the mortgage industry wanted was a clear-cut rule from the CFPB. What it received was 800-plus pages of confusion.

Historically a single-family lender, New York thrift Astoria Financial looks to improve profits by focusing on commercial and multifamily loans.

A computer hacker from the online activism group “Anonymous” was sentenced in Britain to 18 months in jail for conspiring to attack the websites of Visa Inc., PayPal Inc., MasterCard Inc. and others.

Square Inc. said Chief Operating Officer Keith Rabois has resigned, marking the departure of an executive who has helped the company grow to more than 3 million customers. Chief Financial Officer Sarah Friar will become acting COO.

Synqera is trying to set itself apart from rivals in the targeted-offer crowd by using point-of-sale hardware with data collection tools that look at everything from weather patterns to the shopper's mood.

Citigroup has paused its sweeping cost-cutting program long enough to open a handful of U.S. branches.

President Obama's renomination of Richard Cordray, who has been running the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau under a controversial recess appointment, is garnering the same GOP concerns expressed when his name was first floated.