Investors Bancorp (ISBC) will open seven branches in New Jersey as part of an ongoing effort by the Short Hills, N.J., company to emphasize commercial lending.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued its second enforcement action on Monday, hitting Discover with a $200 million fine. Observers said it was clear violations will carry a steep price tag.

Bank shares tend to rally in election years but often fall after all the ballots are cast, a KBW study going back to 1984 says.

Aspiring consolidators are weighing the benefits of hiring lending teams as opposed to making acquisitions.

Adequate communication, data retention, requests for approval and, ultimately, cooperation can minimize a company's risk of being investigated by the CFPB or state attorney general's office.

Opus Bank in Irvine, Calif., has completed its acquisition of ten branches from PacWest Bancorp. The companies said in separate press releases that the transaction closed on Friday. Opus rebranded the branches over the weekend.

Regulators released a calculator Monday that is designed to help community bankers project how much capital they will need to hold under Basel III.

Joseph Stilwell said in a regulatory filing that he could start pushing the thrift's management to put stashed away capital to work.

First PacTrust said Gregory Mitchell , who had been its CEO since November 2010, had resigned. The resignation comes roughly a month after the company said Mitchell would share the CEO title with Steven A. Sugarman.

PL Capital said in a regulatory filing Thursday that it has raised its stake in Magyar to 9.99% on Aug. 1, compared to a prior stake of 8.6%.

Members of Technology Credit Union rejected management's plan to convert to a mutual thrift. The vote has led to renewed criticism about the National Credit Union Administration's role in conversion votes.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. is planning a series of workshops for investors who would like to buy assets from failed financial institutions.

Jay Sidhu, the head of Customers Bancorp in Pennsylvania, has received about as much money from private investors in recent months as it sought to raise in its canceled IPO.

BNCCorp (BNCC) has reached a settlement with its insurers more than two years after the Bismarck, N.D., company discovered that it had been defrauded by a mortgage servicer.

When FirstMerit agreed to buy Citizens Republic this month, it capped Cathleen Nash's efforts to rebound from recession in hard-hit Michigan.

If TAG is senselessly allowed to expire, many depositors may sever their relationships with the smaller banks in their communities and opt to place their money under the "protection" of the Too Big to Fail institutions.

CapStone Bank in Raleigh, N.C., has agreed to buy Patriot State Bank in Fuquay-Varina, N.C., for roughly $10.6 million.

The company paid roughly $939,000 to repurchase a warrant that would have allowed the Treasury Department to buy about 543,300 shares of BNC's common stock at $8.63 per share, BNC said in a regulatory filing Thursday.

Big banks hire a former governor (Pawlenty) as their top lobbyist. An FDIC official (Hoenig) slams their behavior. And the FHFA proposes linking GSE fees to foreclosure costs.

First California Financial Group is on the verge of announcing an agreement to sell itself, possibly to UnionBanCal or CVB Financial — and not hostile bidder PacWest, sources familiar with the matter say.