Reimaging the digital experience for retail customers has been the rage for several years now, but a handful of companies are turning their attention to rethinking the digital experience for small business deposit accounts.

The Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council issued a joint statement Tuesday advising financial institutions to take steps to defend against cyber-ransom attacks.

The FTC will host a news conference in Washington, D.C., at 12:30 p.m. Wednesday to announce what the agency is calling a "major law enforcement initiative" involving the debt collection industry.

Banking regulators have been coy about whether they approve serving marijuana businesses, but lately one regional Fed bank has taken a strong position against the practice. But there are nearly three dozen Fed-supervised banks serving pot companies — one of many seeming inconsistencies in an opaque and confusing regulatory policy.

Freddie Mac Chief Executive Donald Layton insisted Tuesday that the government-sponsored enterprise showed "very strong fundamentals" in the third quarter, despite reporting a $501 million loss due to an accounting mismatch with its use of derivatives.

Chippewa Valley Bank in Winter, Wis., has agreed to buy most of the assets of State Bank of Drummond in Drummond, Wis.

MasterCard has appointed Craig Vosburg to president of North America markets.

Although millennials are less trusting of financial advisors than older investors, there are still ways for wealth management firms to court younger clients.

The CFPB has released its monthly report on consumer complaints. The latest report highlights consumer complaints related to credit cards as well as consumer complaints from the Chicago metro area.

Freddie Mac posted a third quarter loss of $501 million, its first quarterly loss in four years, but the government-sponsored enterprise will not request a draw from the U.S. Treasury.

In what could be seen as another salvo in the battle between fintech "distruptors" and more traditional financial institutions, five large technology companies — Google, Amazon, Apple, PayPal and Intuit — have formed a lobbying and advocacy group dedicated to financial issues.

Fees charged to military banks under Department of Defense agreements are forcing branches to close, removing a key resource for troops and families.

Seacoast Banking Corp. of Florida in Stuart has agreed to buy Floridian Financial Group in Lake Mary.

First Horizon National in Memphis, Tenn., will record an $11.6 million expense in the third quarter, after an arbitration panel officially ruled against it in a securities-related dispute with First United Corp. in Oakland, Md.

Google, Amazon, Apple, PayPal and Intuit have joined forces to promote policies they say will foster greater innovation in financial services.

WireCash, an online marketplace for international remittances, has added the Brazilian company Pontual to its platform.

UMB Financial in Kansas City, Mo., announced that its president has resigned. Peter deSilva also vacated his post at chief operating officer, the $18.6 billion-asset company said in a press release Monday.

Loan demand and conditions remained largely unchanged in the third quarter, with some easing of credit standards for consumer and auto loans, according to a survey of senior loan officers conducted by the Federal Reserve.

October was one of the best months in recent memory in terms of the number of deals and their aggregate value. If that pace continues, 2015 would be the strongest year for bank M&A since the financial crisis.

JPMorgan Chase agreed to pay California $50 million to resolve claims the bank cheated tens of thousands of credit-card customers while collecting debts from them, California Attorney General Kamala Harris said.