Issuers exempt from the interchange fee cap should continue to promote activation and use of their debit cards by way of issuer-sponsored and merchant-funded rewards.

Consolidation among bank dealmakers continues as Houlihan Lokey acquires Milestone Advisors. The combined firm has 28 bank M&A advisors and will try to hire more amid upheaval in investment banking.

This bad loan was a unique case of vanity and all-pervasive incompetence on the part of both the banker and a movie producer turned real estate developer.

Cornerstone Bancshares in Chattanooga, Tenn., has raised $15 million to bolster its capital reserves.

Independence Bancshares in Greenville, S.C., has $14.1 million in new capital and freshly minted chief executive.

Shelter Insurance joins the growing list of insurance companies to unwind its bank after it faced having more than $1 million in annual costs tied to Dodd-Frank.

VantageSouth Bank in North Carolina is taking steps to rekindle lending to home builders.

Business borrowing from commercial banks appears to have jumped at an annual rate of 11% in the fourth quarter, reversing two quarters of fading momentum.

ICBA Bancard is partnering with the payment processor Vantiv to provide payment services for the Independent Community Bankers of America's member banks.

Guaranty Bancorp in Denver is planning to retire some of its high-cost debt. The $1.8 billion-asset company said late Friday that it would redeem $15 million in trust-preferred securities in February and March.

Cambridge Savings Bank named Wayne Patenaude, its chief financial officer, to succeeded Robert Wilson as its president and CEO.

The deal clears up a major source of uncertainty at the banking giant and is likely to lead the way for similar settlements between Fannie and other big mortgage originators.

United Shore Financial Services in Birmingham, Mich., has promoted the head of its wholesale mortgage unit to become its president.

November marked the first time in months that bankers reported increased momentum for staffing, despite the fact that some Northeastern banks were dealing with Hurricane Sandy's aftermath.

Global central bank chiefs gave lenders four more years to meet international liquidity requirements and watered down the measures in a bid to stave off another credit crunch.

Plaza Bank in Seattle has lured a healthcare executive to return to banking as its new chief executive.

The country's largest undercapitalized bank, U.S. Century Bank of Doral, Fla., raised $30 million in December through the sale of three loans, according to a report in the South Florida Business Journal.

As loan participations start to climb, lenders would be well served to learn how a poorly structured agreement on a mall property caused headaches for more than a dozen banks.

The Federal Housing Administration is making it easier for small banks, thrifts and credit unions to participate in its single-family loan program again.

Northeast Community Bancorp (NECB) in White Plains, N.Y., has promoted Jose Collazo to become its president.