Safety-and-soundness orders continued to abate late last year in another sign that the banking industry is regaining its balance.

Confusing fees, perplexing choices, interactions that can be painful. Retail banking is full of complexities that keep consumers baffled. But will people pay for a simpler experience?

New York Life's annuity products aren't likely to become any higher yielding or any more exciting as the Baby Boomers start retiring en masse, but it certainly seems they will be in greater demand.

CenterState Bank in Winter Haven, Fla., bought a failed bank Friday. John Corbett, the head of CenterState, hired the target's new CEO months ago. He has used that philosophy several times to expand — and doesn't plan to stop there.

Sterling Bancorp's fourth-quarter profit rose 51% from a year earlier, to 5.3 million, as loan volume and net interest income improved.

Community banks on average seem to be losing less revenue from a lower interchange cap that first forecast. Observers caution that those banks can't get too comfortable since market forces have yet to change the landscape.

The Federal Reserve on Tuesday announced two enforcement actions against two banks, the Bank of Bartlett in Tennessee and Capitol City Bancshares Inc. in Atlanta.

MountainOne Financial Partners in North Adams, Mass., is merging two of its thrifts under one charter in an effort to become more efficient.

First Mariner Bancorp Inc. in Baltimore said that its fourth-quarter loss narrowed slightly from a year earlier.

Sun Bancorp Inc. in Vineland, N.J., narrowed the size of its loss in the fourth quarter after moving more nonperforming assets off its books.

Toronto-Dominion Bank, Canada's second-largest lender, may expand wealth-management operations in the U.S. as it seeks a broader market for mutual funds and investment advice.

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NBC Bancshares LLC in Lincoln, Neb., has completed its purchase of a controlling interest in a unit of Capitol Bancorp Ltd.

I recently recounted a personal story to a bank's management team that I've shared frequently over the years. I tell it to drive home the point about the importance of eliminating "clutter" that accumulates in our organizations over time. As the group laughed, I assured them that, sadly, this was a true story.

Regulators have terminated two cease-and-desist orders against a small Los Angeles commercial bank after a recapitalization effort and a management shakeup.

CenterState Banks Inc. posted its first quarterly profit since mid-2011 because of bank acquisitions.

Republic Bancorp and the FDIC seemed to have put last year's legal tussle to rest after reaching an agreement to transfer ownership of Tennessee Commerce Bank.

The Minneapolis bank said Monday it has a deal to buy UMB's corporate trust business in Indiana. The move jibes with CEO Richard Davis' interest in niche acquisitions.

Sound Financial Inc. in Seattle is planning to take the second step to convert from a mutual holding company to an entirely stock one.

NCUA liquidated Eastern New York FCU Friday night and assigned the remnants of the one-time $60 million credit union to USAlliance FCU, the $760 million credit union based in the Manhattan suburb of Rye, N.Y.