The online business lender OnDeck has partnered with ProfitStars to help provide credit to small businesses that may not qualify for loans from banks or credit unions.

After pressure from Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Fed Chair Janet Yellen said she agreed with a proposal to require the central bank's board to vote on significant enforcement actions.

Banks and other financial institutions can minimize their losses on checking accounts by limiting the kinds that they offer, according to a new report from economic research firm Moebs Services.

Credit unions' tax exemption looks safe again this year on Capitol Hill, but that didn't stop the American Bankers Association from mounting an intense advertising and lobbying attack that also served as rallying cry for the Credit Union National Association.

Executives at Webster Financial, Independent Bank and People's United agree that their retail operations have to change -- but the consensus stops there. Some are adding branches, some are cutting them, and they are all using new technologies in different ways.

Madison Bancorp (MDSN) in Baltimore, Md., plans to deregister its common stock and stop reporting to the Securities and Exchange Commission.

EagleBank in Bethesda, Md., has hired three former Virginia Commerce Bank executives.

First Republic Bank (FRC) in San Francisco has appointed a new chief operating officer and extended the employment contracts for its chief executive and president.

Oconee Federal Financial Corp. (OFED) in Seneca, S.C., has agreed to buy Stephens Federal Bank in Toccoa, Ga.

Serial bank acquirers might stop to catch their breath some times, but many realize that their next deal is always on the horizon. Three of those banks recently discussed their plans to return to M&A at a conference in Boston.

Following a series of high-profile data breaches, legislators in the nation's largest state are kicking off a debate that has nationwide implications.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s fourth-quarter report on industry health showed continued challenges to growth, but the second straight increase in net interest margins is a promising sign for the future.

NASB Financial (NASB) in Grandview, Mo., has been released from a consent order issued by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.

The Federal Reserve Board has released Metropolitan Bank Holding in New York from a January 2011 enforcement action.

The mortgage market has failed to shift from refinances to purchases as anticipated, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's latest weekly report on applications.

The most notable quotes from American Banker stories of the previous week. Readers are encouraged to add their own observations in the Comments fields at the bottom of each slide.

Customers Bancorp in Wyomissing, Pa., (CUBI) plans to launch a virtual mobile banking platform in the third quarter of this year meant to make banking services more effortless for consumers.

Southern Missouri Bancorp (SMBC) in Poplar Bluff, Mo., has agreed to buy Peoples Banking Company in Nixa, Mo.

First United (FUNC) in Oakland, Md., has received regulatory approval to catch up on interest payments for certain obligations.

The $3.2 billion-asset company said in a press release Tuesday that Michael Mayer had been the chief executive of 1st Financial Services in Hendersonville, N.C.