Few things cut through the skepticism many folks hold toward a business (or even industry) as much as genuine, altruistic actions.

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New York Community Bancorp announced Tuesday that it has finished streamlining its core platform and related systems, including online banking, automated voice response and ATMs, across all 68 of its branches.

Provident Financial Services (PFS) of New Jersey is beefing up its marketing efforts with a new slogan as it tries to stand out in the rough-and-tumble New York banking market.

Astoria Financial, Texas Capital Bancshares and three other large community banks look more vulnerable to buyout efforts after M&T's agreement to buy Hudson City.

Bank of Commerce of Redding, Calif., is selling its majority stake in a mortgage lending company, a move some industry observers say makes sense given a challenging regulatory environment.

S&T Bank in Indiana, Pa., has added two lenders as it continues to expand its commercial lending business.

Union First Market Bank in Richmond, Va., has added an iPad app to its mobile offerings.

Shares of BNCCorp soared Tuesday after the Bismarck, N.D., company announced that it was terminating a planned stock sale that threatened to dilute investors' holdings.

Intermountain Community Bancorp plans to conduct a 1-for-10 reverse stock split on Oct. 5.

Financial institutions with a long-term strategic interest in the credit card business should reap the benefits of the existing safe harbor and buy while it lasts. Those who don't should take advantage of the current environment and sell.

Risk management still has its weak spots, despite the valuable lessons banks learned from the financial crisis. Practitioners wonder if stopping the next blow-up is even a reasonable goal for the profession.

For all the anxiety in the financial services industry, upbeat stories abound at Keefe, Bruyeete & Wood's annual conference for community bank investors. Bonnie McGeer reports.

Naugatuck Valley Financial (NVSL) said that two senior executives will serve as interim co-president and co-CEO while it waits on regulatory approval for an unidentified candidate to take on the job permanently.

The Treasury Department has investigated nine community banks that failed since 2007 for possible criminal conduct that led to their failures. The cases have since been closed, and the agency has elected against filing lawsuits in every case.

Bank of Commerce Holdings in Redding, Calif., is selling its stake in its namesake mortgage company three years after becoming its co-owner.

Business activity in the banking sector increased in July for the second straight month, according to industry executives surveyed for American Banker's latest Index of Banking Activity.

Credit union membership rose to a record 93.1 million in the second quarter even as the total number of credit unions dipped below 7,000.

A small number of alternative financial services providers would be permitted to operate nationwide and on the Internet without adequate policing of their products for underserved consumers.

Codorus Valley Bancorp (CVLY) is warning investors about higher credit costs a month before its third quarter will end.