The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency promoted Ellen M. Warwick to oversee its law department division, the agency said Wednesday.

A program that encourages saving through periodic cash giveaways is attracting interest among credit unions across the country, and could be debuting at banks in Maryland as early as next year.

For community banks, the Dodd-Frank reform law presents a lot more questions than answers. For Washington State's Cashmere Bank, it was time to turn to outside help.

BBCN in Los Angeles was a prominent newcomer, but the bulk of Sandler O'Neill's eighth annual small-bank all-star team still hails from east of the Mississippi.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. has terminated a consent order with Cornerstone Community Bank in Chattanooga, Tenn., after the bank increased its capital levels.

TAB Bank in Ogden, Utah, has snagged three executives from a competitor to pump up its equipment-leasing division.

Southwest Bancorp in Stillwater, Okla., has hired Mark W. Funke as its new president and CEO. Funke, who was a market president for Bank of Oklahoma, is expected to join Southwest Oct. 1.

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.