John Poelker joined a bank in crisis when he agreed to lead Certus in April. His efforts to turn around a crisis-riddled South Carolina company make him one of American Banker's 2015 community bankers to watch.

Andrew Samuel left Susquehanna Bancshares, where he was in line to become CEO, to run the tiny Sunshine Bancorp in Florida. While Susquehanna recently agreed to sell itself to BB&T, Samuel has been working furiously to hire and expand at his new employer.

Mutual conversions soared this year as mutual thrift executives sought to raise capital at the behest of investment bankers and others. With many of the biggest mutuals having converted this year, there may be a drop-off in conversions in 2015.

An appeals court has upheld the four-year prison term of a former collection agency executive who was the mastermind behind a $12 million fraud scheme from January 2007 to March 2011.

Westbury Bancorp in West Bend, Wis., named a new president for the company and its bank subsidiary.

It isn't just payday lenders and money-services firms that are being ditched by banks lately. Community banks are getting cut off too.

The subsidiary of Chemung Financial in Elmira, N.Y., has sold its equity securities portfolio.

WASHINGTON — Medical debt may prove to be one of the complex areas that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will tackle in its highly anticipated rulemaking on debt collection next year.

Dan Rollins' ability to have a BSA-related consent order removed and get two acquisitions back on track could embolden more big community banks to pursue deals next year.

A federal bankruptcy court has approved the sale of PNA Bank in Chicago.

Fairmount Bancorp in Baltimore seems poised to face a proxy battle next year from activist investor Joseph Stilwell.

As the real estate market ramps back up, lenders are looking for ways to diversify their portfolios, even if the returns are slim.

A recent study intended to measure Americans' understanding of arbitration clauses asked the wrong questions. The more germane issue is whether arbitration produces better outcomes for consumers than court and class action litigation.

Kearny Financial in Fairfield, N.J., has withdrawn its application for a mutual-to-stock conversion.

BofI Holding in San Diego has agreed to buy $125 million in deposit accounts from a unit of First Marblehead.

Doral Bank's San Juan headquarters was raided by agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation as part of a search for evidence related to "several ongoing investigations," a spokesman for the agency said.

Citizens National in Paintsville, Ky., has acquired Peoples Security Bancorp in Louisa, Ky.

A report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office reveals a drop in state funding for public universities is making it tougher for students to pay for college.

Rozanne Andersen, chief compliance officer at Ontario Systems, is named as a nominee on the 2015 Shortlist for the Women in Compliance Awards. Andersen was twice named one of the top achievers in collections by Collections & Credit Risk for her role in shaping the industry's legislative priorities.

Colorado's Attorney General John Suthers has sued two more foreclosure law firms for fraud, accusing them of inflating costs charged to homeowners.