The Department of Housing and Urban Development issued a proposal Wednesday to codify recent changes to its reverse mortgage program and to provide additional protections for seniors, including a cap on annual interest rate increases.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's proposal to limit the use of arbitration clauses came under attack Wednesday for potentially raising costs and liability for financial firms.

Simmons First National in Pine Bluff, Ark., has agreed to buy Citizens National Bancorp in Athens, Tenn.

Banks have stumbled in their forays with wearable technology. Now the leading maker of personal fitness trackers plans to add contactless payment capabilities to the devices.

Gerard Champi is getting a vowel upgrade. He will be promoted to CEO from COO of First National Community Bancorp in Dunmore, Pa., this summer, according to a company news release.

A study commissioned by the Massachusetts Bankers Association found a correlation between a spike in credit unions with low-income designations and an increase in member business lending in the state.

New York's bank regulator is investigating LendingClub Corp. over loans issued to consumers and its relationships with financial institutions, saddling the embattled company with another probe after its chief executive was forced to resign earlier this month.

Banks are trying to upgrade tech offerings, from mobile banking to bill pay. But that's easier said than done, in part because the biggest core processors use their dominant market share to restrict access to banks' networks. They do this, in part, because they offer their own competing tech products.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's proposal to restrict the use of arbitration clauses would allow it to seize enormous amounts of data from financial firms that could lead to more enforcement actions, according to industry lawyers.

Data through April released by S&P Dow Jones Indices and Experian shows a consumer credit default composite rate of 0.86% in April, down seven basis points from March.

Louise Walker, the head of First Northern Bank in Dixon, Calif., will be wearing an additional hat over the next year — chair of the California Bankers Association.

An appeals court panel has questioned whether Sallie Mae and SLM Corp. had actual knowledge of for-profit California Culinary Academy’s alleged scheme to prey on students and whether the lender perpetuated that lie to students.

For a more immediate payoff, community banks should focus marketing on older customers that are facing a new set of economic pressures.

One in five short-term auto title loan borrowers have their vehicle seized because they cannot pay the loan, according to a study released Wednesday by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau found that one in five borrowers who take out short-term auto title loans have their vehicle seized for failing to repay the loan.

Synchrony Financial, the credit card lender that was recently spun off from General Electric, is considering an expansion into small-business lending.

Technology leader BBVA Compass has been ahead of the pack in real-time payments, neobanking and fintech investing. Manolo Sanchez shares his vision for next steps: the bank's developing API marketplace and "Uberized" digital banking.

HCSB Financial in South Carolina recently raised $45 million from a group led by Castle Creek Capital Partners, showing that big investors are still comfortable placing bets on financial firms. The challenge for banks like HCSB will be to find ways to put that capital to work years after other institutions were able to start playing offense.

Following the scandal-tinged departure of CEO Renaud Laplanche, the company is contemplating drastic steps to restore the confidence of loan buyers. Scenarios that would have been far-fetched a short time ago — such as diluting shareholders and funding loans off its own balance sheet — are now under consideration.

BB&T in Winston-Salem, N.C., plans to cut 240 jobs and close 28 branches as part of its integration of National Penn Bancshares.