The $680 million-asset company said Wednesday that it launched Bankwell Investment Services after hiring adviser Louis Czerwinski from First Niagara Investment Services.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for the first time failed to sell some of the soured mortgages it's auctioning off in the wake of the housing crisis, according to four people with knowledge of the results.

The former president and chief executive of a failed bank in Savannah, Ga., has pleaded guilty to a conspiracy charge in a loan-fraud scheme.

The national mortgage delinquency rate continued its downward trend in the third quarter, dropping to 4.09% compared to 5.33% during the same period a year ago.

Credit unions are paying more for talent and getting more aggressive in lending, as bankers start to doubt whether policymakers will ever strip their foes' tax exemption.

PPL Corp., a utility company in Allentown, Pa., has entered into a $300 million revolving credit facility with 21 banks.

John Marshall Bank in Reston, Va., could raise $32.4 million in a public offering, according to newly released pricing information.

Average non-mortgage debt in Canada is rising at a relatively modest rate, according to a study by TransUnion. Low delinquency rates indicate that Canadians so far have been able to handle the increase.

If checks, a payment method that's hundreds of years old, can be updated for the Internet age, why can't America's four-decade-old electronic payments system? It's not for lack of trying.

To avoid incurring a customer's wrath or a lawsuit, banks should make sure new fees carry a clear value exchange, offer something new (ahem, mobile) and are easily avoided. Resist any temptation to set fee traps.

The $534 million-asset company said Wednesday that it sold about 203,000 shares of common stock and nearly 400,000 shares of non-voting common stock at $16.80 each to Castle Creek Capital Partners.

The East Coast oil boom and the rise in hydraulic fracturing are creating headaches for banks that lend to local homeowners, who risk violating government mortgage standards when they sell their property's energy rights to oil and gas companies. American Banker editors discuss the foreclosure and even environmental problems that fracking can create for lenders, and how some banks are coping.

An aspect of U.S. tax law is being criticized by some lawmakers and consumer groups concerned that it may be worth billions of dollars for JPMorgan Chase in negotiations with the Department of Justice.

The Federal Election Commission (FEC) has proposed allowing Bitcoin to be accepted as contributions for federal candidates in its draft guidance.

Horizon Bancorp (HBNC) in Michigan City, Ind., has agreed to buy SCB Bancorp (SCB) in East Lansing, Mich.

A former executive at One Bank & Trust in Little Rock, Ark., has been charged with stealing nearly $75,000 from his employer to pay off credit card bills.

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Richard Cordray acknowledged concerns Tuesday about how the agency is regulating indirect auto lenders, vowing to be more transparent about its oversight.

The $782 million-asset company said in a press release Tuesday that it halved its stake in Lender Service Provider, to 25%, during the third quarter after adding two members to the processing firm.