A Federal Reserve task force has issued criteria for its faster payments initiative, part of a long journey to build a framework to securely and efficiently accommodate the near-real-time processing for digital commerce.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and IBM are the latest firms to invest in Digital Asset Holdings, the startup led by former JPMorgan Chase & Co. banker Blythe Masters that aims to adapt blockchain technology to financial markets.

The near future may find more banks ceasing to originate residential mortgages in an effort to stop the slide in stock prices.

First-mortgage originations for subprime borrowers showed steady growth last year from January to October, with more than 312,000 new mortgages originated, totaling $50.7 billion, according to data from the latest Equifax National Consumer Credit Trends Report.

The largest institutions moved to the top of J.D. Power's rankings, thanks largely to the popularity of their digital offerings and high scores among young adults.

Lawrence Seidman, an activist investor in New Jersey, wrote in a regulatory filing that he plans to withhold support for all three of Malvern Bancorp's directors who are up for reelection this year.

Bank of America has nearly three dozen patents pending related to blockchains. More banks are expected to seek patents as the technology associated with cryptocurrencies creeps closer to widespread use.

Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson has requested legislation that would create a program allowing Washington drivers to set up payment plans to pay traffic-based fines. The program aims to reduce the number of people in the state with suspended driver’s licenses, lower court costs and boost local revenue.

Old National Bancorp's decision to repurchase branch offices that it had been leasing helped boost the Evansville, Ind., company's fourth-quarter profit.

The Shareholders Foundation Inc. announced that a lawsuit is pending in South Carolina on behalf of certain buyers of shares of World Acceptance Corp. over the company's alleged violations of laws concerning securities.

It's easier than ever for consumers to take out personal loans to pay down high-cost debt or fund big-ticket purchases, and two new studies show that they are taking full advantage of their options.

Bank of America is preparing to submit 20 blockchain-related patents any day now to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, CNBC reported last week, citing a company spokesperson.

OnDeck Capital, an online small-business lender in New York, has added a former E-Trade Financial executive to its board, as another director plans to leave.

The U.S. House of Representatives this week likely will consider legislation to end Operation Choke Point, sponsored by U.S. Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-Mo.).

The marijuana industry is still hampered by its own banking crisis, but the rigidity of federal laws is not stopping all advances in financial services for the sector.

The best customer prospects are specific individuals, so don't fall into the trap laid by surveys and articles that recommend a grand pitch to Generation Y as a marketing strategy.

On the surface, traditional bankers and third-party disruptors may not always have the same approaches in mind, but the gap between their goals and how to go about it is increasingly getting smaller.

Activist investors are turning their sights back toward banks after going easier on them than on other industries in recent years. Look for the next bank M&A wave to be fueled by aggressive hedge funds as they push for board seats and ultimately sales of financial institutions.

PL Capital is raising money for a new fund that'll target banks with up to $75 billion of assets, after 20 years of sticking to just community banks with less than $3 billion of assets. In this Q&A, Richard Lashley explains why activist investors are eyeing bigger banks now and how banks can avoid his kind.

The hedge fund Bluestone Financial Partners has investments in a handful of banks that it views as takeout targets, but its founder, Ted Peters, says he would never agitate for a sale. Here's why he values the pacifist approach.