Popular with employees: An outdoor walking path that circles the office park is lined with scenic views.

Community service initiative: Employees fund and lead a grant-giving foundation, and CoBiz matches their contributions. Recipients are determined through an annual community involvement survey.

Popular with employees: Professional development is a top priority at Chesapeake. All employees have the chance to advance their careers with additional training paid for by the bank.

Popular with employees: In April, 80 employees took part in National Teach Children to Save Day. The team helped 7,500 students learn about budgeting, interest and understanding needs versus wants.

Popular with employees: North Shore organizes several walks, runs and bikes throughout the year and pays for employees to participate.

Popular with employees: Some FirstBank locations have a ping-pong table in the break room. This year four branches in Lakewood hosted an employee tournament that raised more than $800 for Junior Achievement.

Popular with Employees: Employees can submit prayer requests via the company's "Happy Hub" intranet.

Popular with employees: More than half of the employees serve on at least one committee focused on strategic initiatives, allowing them to share ideas and take action.

The Best Banks to Work For study is a collaboration between American Banker and the Best Companies Group, which conducts extensive employee surveys and reviews employer reports on benefits and policies.

Most banks encourage employees to be active with local charities, but the parent of First Tennessee Bank takes its support to a higher level by awarding cash grants to nonprofits at which its employees are board members.

From birthdays to volunteer work to losing weight, these institutions from our annual Best Banks to Work For list have given their employees inventive ways to earn extra time off.

Tri-Valley Bank in San Ramon, Calif., plans to raise $1.35 million in a private placement of its common stock.

FirstMerit in Akron, Ohio, has reached an agreement with Paychex to provide payroll-processing services.

Poage Bankshares in Ashland, Ky., has promoted its bank president to chief executive, following the resignation of Ralph "Gene" Coffman.

The Federal Housing Administration has resolved a long-standing conflict with municipalities and private companies that back "green energy" loans that is expected to benefit banks and other mortgage lenders. The next question is whether the regulator of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgages will do the same.

WASHINGTON — The number of complaints about the credit reporting industry rose sharply in July, surging by 56% from a month earlier, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said Tuesday.

Standard Treasury, the startup that Silicon Valley Bank absorbed this month, is helping create software gateways for the institution's high-tech business clients to customize the way they interact with it.

Fannie Mae is revamping its affordable mortgage program to make it easier for low- and moderate-income families to qualify for low-down-payment loans.

The CFPB is considering suing Navient Corp., the largest student loan company in the U.S., for allegedly cheating borrowers, Navient officials disclosed Monday in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing.

Traditional gadflies are again pressing banks to find buyers. They could soon be joined by less vocal investors who still know how to put pressure on executives and directors.