Capital

Carolina Alliance Bank in Spartanburg, S.C., has exited the Small Business Lending Fund program.

Well, something has to. For proponents of modernization and greater efficiency in the syndicated loan, bond, swaps, and private placement markets, it's well past time to put investors, banks, brokers and borrowers on the same technological page.

Yes, all the big banks are paring their balance sheets to comply with new rules and axing expenses to please shareholders, but JPMorgan is simultaneously targeting affluent cities for branch and deposit growth.

It is time for institutions to act independently of the Federal Reserve and raise their loan interest rates to improve returns.

CCB Bankshares in South Hill, Va., has raised $3.5 million in a private placement of debt and will use some of the money to exit the Small Business Lending Fund.

Centrue Financial in Ottawa, Ill., has been released from an enforcement action that had prohibited the company from paying dividends without regulatory approval.

The Federal Housing Administration will continue to charge borrowers an annual premium over the entire life of the loan, rejecting calls from some housing advocates to change how it’s calculated.

Should companies that manage collateralized loan obligations but don't originate the loans be subject to Dodd-Frank's risk-retention rules for securitizations?

First Resource Bank in Exton, Pa., has received federal regulatory approval to exit the Small Business Lending Fund program.

Horizon Bancorp in Michigan City, Ind., has exited the Small Business Lending Fund program.

The near future may find more banks ceasing to originate residential mortgages in an effort to stop the slide in stock prices.

Activist investors are turning their sights back toward banks after going easier on them than on other industries in recent years. Look for the next bank M&A wave to be fueled by aggressive hedge funds as they push for board seats and ultimately sales of financial institutions.

PL Capital is raising money for a new fund that'll target banks with up to $75 billion of assets, after 20 years of sticking to just community banks with less than $3 billion of assets. In this Q&A, Richard Lashley explains why activist investors are eyeing bigger banks now and how banks can avoid his kind.

The hedge fund Bluestone Financial Partners has investments in a handful of banks that it views as takeout targets, but its founder, Ted Peters, says he would never agitate for a sale. Here's why he values the pacifist approach.

College Ave Student Loans, an online lender in Wilmington, Del., announced Thursday that it has raised $20 million in equity financing.

Randolph Bancorp in Stoughton, Mass., plans to convert from a mutual thrift to a stock-owned bank. The $386 million-asset company will hold an initial public offering as part of its conversion, it said Tuesday.

The combination of falling stock prices, higher-risk strategies and signs of worsening credit quality does not bode well for the industry's road ahead.

Banco Santander SA built up capital in the fourth quarter, easing investor concern about its ability to bolster buffers, as Spain's largest lender booked charges that wiped out profit.

Customers Bancorp in Wyomissing, Pa., plans to raise $24 million in an offering of its preferred stock on the New York Stock Exchange.

American International Group announced $3.6 billion in new costs to fill a reserve shortfall and said it will hold an initial public offering for its mortgage insurer and sell an adviser network as Chief Executive Peter Hancock seeks to boost returns and protect his job after criticism from activist investor Carl Icahn.