A former employee wants the company to look at a merger of equals or selling its wealth management operations to increase shareholder value. Management, meanwhile, wants to grow in a way that diversifies income and reduces risk.

The Seminole Tribe of Florida has agreed to buy Mackinac Savings Bank in Boynton Beach, Fla.

Bob Beauprez, a former community banker and Republican congressman, is challenging incumbent John Hickenlooper in Colorado's gubernatorial race. A pro-Hickenlooper group has released ads attacking Beauprez's banking ties, including the sale of his bank to First Community Bank in Taos, N.M. That bank failed in 2011.

It's becoming easier for Americans with low credit scores to get a credit card, according to a new report. The industry contracted sharply during the recession.

The Federal Reserve and the Conference of State Bank Supervisors recently held their second annual conference dedicated to community bank research. Here are some of the important studies and reform ideas discussed during the two-day event in St. Louis.

The $3.2 billion-asset HomeStreet will pay $128 million in stock for the $870 million-asset Simplicity, the companies said in a press release Monday.

ICANN, the governing body for Internet domain names, has given fTLD Registry Services the authority to operate the ".bank" domain name.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. has ordered Merrick Bank in South Jordan, Utah, to pay $16.1 million to settle charges related to the marketing of a credit card add-on product.

Community banks and credit unions have filed class actions against Home Depot and Target, using untested legal arguments to claim the retailers should pay banks’ expenses tied to recent data breaches. There is very little legal precedent here, and hundreds of millions of dollars could hinge on the court rulings in these cases.

Banks have increased fees for overdrafts and out-of-network ATM transactions in the past year, according to data released Monday by Bankrate.com.

California Gov. Jerry Brown signed the Electronic Benefits Transfer Protection and Empowerment Act, AB 1614, on Sunday. The law includes a requirement that recipients of the California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids welfare program must receive information that helps prevent ATM fees being charged against them when accessing their benefits.

WASHINGTON — Michigan-based Flagstar Bank will be required to pay $37.5 million in restitution and fines over regulatory allegations it blocked struggling homeowners from receiving foreclosure relief, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said Monday.

Popular in San Juan, Puerto Rico, has made a few changes to its management team.

IMGCAP(1)]

Banks, credit unions, payday lenders and installment lenders are likely to feel the impact of restrictions on loans to members of the military that the Defense Department has proposed.

Old Line Bancshares in Bowie, Md., is planning to close four branches.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. in August issued eight consent orders and one civil money penalty, according to its latest monthly roundup of enforcement actions released Friday.

Tory Nixon played defense for San Francisco's famed NFL team in some of its glory years, but now he's on offense, seeking to build out commercial lending and retail operations in Northern California for California Bank & Trust.

Great Western Bancorp in Sioux Falls, S.D., could sell up to $100 million shares of its stock during its planned initial public offering.

More community banks are looking to outsource their mortgage operations to reduce the regulatory burden, but structuring such deals — and determining proper compensation — can be tricky. Here's how two Chicago-area lenders solved the problem.