Consumers are paying down their debts across an increasing number of loan categories, according to the American Bankers Association. That was a welcome reversal for the banking industry, which in the second quarter saw the ABA report an uptick in delinquencies.

When President Obama installed Richard Cordray as director of the CFPB through a recess appointment Wednesday, he set the stage for a legal showdown over the bureau's authority that could take years to resolve.

Customers might think banks are giving them great deals when they’re actually getting ripped off. Upfront charges, however annoying, are far preferable to hidden costs.

BankAtlantic Bancorp's hopes to move forward with its planned sale without the interference of its debt holders have been squashed by a Delaware judge.

Howard Bluver's prior stints at the SEC and the OTS should prove helpful to Suffolk Bancorp as it looks to exit a formal agreement with the OCC.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. has ordered seven ailing community banks to raise fresh capital and directed three others with elevated loan losses to submit written plans for raising capital should credit quality weaken further.

Wells Fargo & Co. has promoted John Epstein to executive vice president in its community lending and investment department.

While some of us were shopping for loved ones during the holidays, some banks were shopping for acquisitions.

Mission Community Bancorp in San Luis Obispo, Calif., has repaid more than $5.1 million in federal aid it received under the Troubled Asset Relief Program.

SVB Financial Group in Santa Clara, Calif., is expanding its banking unit to Arizona by opening an IT and operations facility in Tempe this year.

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A number of analysts and attorneys are convinced that smaller banks will feel the effects of new rules associated with the Dodd-Frank Act.

PacWest Bancorp in Los Angeles has completed its acquisition of a specialty equipment leasing company from Meridian Bank in Wickenburg, Ariz., for $35 million in cash.

CoBank in Denver has completed its merger with U.S. AgBank in Wichita, Kan., creating an $85 billion cooperative bank in the Farm Credit System.

Three small banks that recently waved the white flag detail why it was better to sell now, take some stock in a bigger company and stop a losing battle for capital and market share. Their proxy filings are a preview of coming attractions.

Recently, after giving a speech to a banker group that skewed rather young, the bank's head recruiter offered me a ride to the airport. Along the way, she told me that she had paid special attention during my presentation to the reactions of their newer hires in the audience.

1st Capital Bank in Monterey, Calif., said Tuesday that it has selected First Data for its online banking services.

University Bancorp Inc. in Ann Arbor, Mich., has named former Michigan state senator and one-time candidate for governor Alma Wheeler Smith as its new chairperson, replacing Charles McDowell, who died last week.

Looking to move forward after recent accounting issues forced it to restate its 2010 earnings, Suffolk Bancorp in Riverhead, N.Y., has hired Howard C. Bluver as its chief executive, succeeding J. Gordon Huszagh.

Ninety-two banks failed in 2011, well below the previous two years' totals. The list of what regulators call "problem banks" is shrinking. And the latest two bank failures were the first in nearly a month — the longest failure-free period in almost three years.