The Chicago-area community bank, which started in the basement of a church as a savings and loan 117 years ago, has started a series of free webinars to give people guidance to free themselves from debt.

Western Independent Bankers, a consortium of about 130 community banks in 13 western states, has entered into a deal to use the marketplace lender LendKey to underwrite and service auto loans.

There will always be a need for small-dollar loans. But loans that trap people in debt and burden borrowers with triple-digit interest rates are simply abusive.

The newly introduced child support payment bill would change federal law in a way that advocates believe would make it more difficult for parents to hide assets ahead of credit checks.

Two House Financial Services Committee members introduced a bipartisan bill late last week that is designed to give lenders breathing room when new disclosure rules go into effect on Aug. 1.

Shares of HSBC Holdings Plc, Europe's largest bank, fell the most in two months in London trading after first-quarter revenue missed analysts' estimates and costs increased at a faster pace.

Bankers give too much credence to futurists and financial gurus who warn that technology will render the in-branch experience obsolete.

Wells Fargo & Co. was sued by Los Angeles for allegedly opening accounts and issuing credit cards without customers' authorization as part of what the city called a "fee-generating machine."

Two House Financial Services Committee members introduced a bipartisan bill late last week that is designed to give lenders breathing room when new disclosure rules go into effect on Aug. 1.

Last month Western Union sharply cut its prices to keep pace with the retail giant, several months after MoneyGram took a similar step. The developments offer a reminder of why banks remain scared of Walmart's consumer finance ambitions.

Debt settlement company Morgan Drexen Inc. filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy liquidation Friday, shortly before a U.S. appeals court threw out the company's earlier constitutional challenge to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Business groups in North Carolina are backing a bill pending in the state’s House that would lift restrictions the legislature passed in 2009 to protect people from abusive collections.

Thanks to aggressive behavior by investor and other activists, bankers are sweating environmental, corporate governance, lobbying and other issues — not to mention their jobs — when they hold annual meetings. Those are on top of the usual protests and other wacky happenings.

Bank of America will let shareholders vote on the rule change that enabled Chief Executive Officer Brian Moynihan to become chairman — just not at this week's annual meeting.

Joann Needleman, current president of the National Association of Retail Collection Attorneys, has joined national law firm Clark Hill PLC.

Financial services technology has dramatically improved payments for consumers. E-commerce connects buyers and sellers around the globe.

A chief financial officer's workday is booked solid dealing with regulatory issues, risk assessments and finding places to cut costs. If they could find an extra hour, bank CFOs say they would use that time to consider how to improve their banks' strategies, employees and communities.

If banking is under attack, then chief financial officers are the defenders of the realm. Equipped with the numbers, they are uniquely positioned to bring the credible answers their stakeholders seek and the changes their companies need.

They spent their formative years analyzing balance sheets saddled with problem assets. They watched their mentors struggle to keep their banks afloat through the crisis. And they took good notes.

Our new special reports and proprietary research profile the key executives flanking the CEOs at financial institutions and explore how their roles have evolved. First up: the chief financial officer.