Community banks in the South have gotten healthier this year as a whole, but many of them have seen a slowdown in lending, according to a quarterly analysis by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.

A Glendale, Calif.-based owner of two collection agencies will pay $1 million to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that his employees used text messages to try collecting debts - without disclosing they were debt collectors.

Pacific Continentalin Eugene, Ore., has named a new head for its operations around Seattle.

Customer complaints, compliance and risk management all continue to make it difficult for community banks to embrace sites such as Facebook and Twitter.

Banks can report suspected elder financial abuse to authorities without violating privacy provisions under the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, according to guidance issued by seven federal regulators Tuesday.

Huntington Bancshares (HBAN) in Columbus, Ohio, has expanded its auto-finance business into its 17th state.

Five years after the financial crisis, the new regulatory regime remains a work in progress but one that's created a major burden for the industry. Here are some of the main takeaways from banking leaders and policymakers who gathered this week to discuss the state of affairs at American Banker's Regulatory Symposium in Washington, D.C.

Many if not all of the women on our ranking would tell you that their success at work has not taken place in a vacuum. It is one piece of their lives – lives that in some cases are filled with children, with aging parents needing assistance or any number of commitments that go along with being a well-rounded citizen.

United Security Bancshares in Thomasville, Ala., has recruited its next chief financial officer from Regions Financial.

The $4.24 billion-asset Banner said Tuesday it has agreed to buy Home Federal Bancorp (HOME) in Nampa, Idaho, for $197 million in cash and stock.

The $979 million-asset company plans to offer up to 1.4 million shares of common stock at $19 per share, according to a Sept. 12 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Banks with assets of less than $50 billion will get a one-year reprieve from making their stress tests and capital plans adhere to Basel III standards, the Federal Reserve Board said Tuesday.

The CEO of HSBC USA says that stricter regulation is crucial to strengthening the banking system and winning back customers' trust, but she remains frustrated by the glacial pace of the rulemaking.

Bank of America's Countrywide unit sold thousands of bad loans, defrauding Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac out of more than $1 billion in mortgages, the U.S. said at the start of a federal trial.

Country Club Bank in Kansas City, Mo., has promoted several executives.

Wells Fargo persuaded a U.S. judge to dismiss some claims against it in a lawsuit by the federal government accusing the lender of home mortgage fraud because they were filed too late.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac failed to pursue and collect deficiencies from foreclosed borrowers who had the ability to repay, according to an inspector general's report released Tuesday.

Independence Bancshares (IEBS) in Greenville, S.C., has hired two former Verizon executives — Aditya Khurjekar and Humphrey Chen — to broaden its mobile-banking services.

JPMorgan Chase resumed settlement talks with the U.S. as it was preparing to sue the bank in California federal court alleging it misrepresented the quality of mortgage-backed securities it sold from 2005 to 2007, according to a person familiar with the matter.

A senior executive at OFG Bancorp (OFG) in San Juan, Puerto Rico, is moving to the top ranks of the Federal Home Loan Bank of New York.