The $5.8 billion-asset Chemical has begun a public offering of its common stock that seeks to raise $50 million, it announced Wednesday after the market closed. All of the shares are being offered by the company.

Financial institutions are required to thoroughly "know" their customers and vet transactions for potential criminal connections in a way that other critical service industries are not. (Imagine an electric company quizzing its customers about what appliances they plug into the wall.) Ellen Zimiles, a former assistant U.S. attorney who now heads the global investigations and compliance practice at Navigant Consulting, explains why banks have been given special responsibilities.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency is urging banks to strengthen their oversight of the home appraisal process and warning them to keep an eye out for a sudden spike in delinquencies on home-equity loans.

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Richard Cordray sought to allay lender fears Wednesday about the agency's new mortgage rules, pledging to be flexible with companies struggling to comply by the January deadline.

Banks need to revamp customer service operations so unhappy consumers complain to them rather than to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, where a complaint could spark added regulatory scrutiny.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. is selling the last of the Citigroup (NYSE:C) stake that the U.S. government acquired during the financial crisis.

UMB Financial (UMBF) seeks to raise up to $242.2 million next week from a common stock offering that priced Tuesday.

The city of Richmond, Calif., is pushing forward with its plan to rescue underwater homeowners by buying their mortgages, and is leaving open the possibility of using eminent-domain to acquire loans that banks will not sell.

A federal court judge in Florida has banned the defendants behind an alleged credit card interest rate reduction scam from selling debt-relief service and telemarketing any services.

Craig Spengeman, the president of Peapack-Gladstone Financial's (PGC) wealth management unit, is retiring.

Fidelity Southern Corp. (LION) in Atlanta has redeemed the entirety of the shares it issued to the Troubled Asset Relief Program along with about a third of trust-preferred securities.

Patriot National Bancorp in Stamford, Conn., has appointed Christina Maier as its new chief financial officer.

American Express (AXP) is selling its high-end glossies to Time Inc. in order to comply with federal regulations.

Ten Federal Housing Administration lenders could be facing hefty penalties from the government following an investigation into their underwriting practices, according to the Department of Housing and Urban Development's inspector general.

Wilmington Trust, a unit of M&T Bank, was sued by heirs to Mennen Co., maker of Speed Stick deodorant, seeking more than $100 million in damages for investment losses.

Some mortgage experts are criticizing a recent rule change by the Federal Housing Administration that would allow borrowers who lost their homes to foreclosure or a short sale to qualify for a new mortgage in as little as a year.

Community bankers at a mortgage conference in North Carolina admit that higher rates and new regulations trouble them, but they say they are customizing purchase products, returning to old-fashioned sales efforts and learning new business skills in response.

Citigroup, the fifth-biggest U.S. mortgage originator last year, shut an office and is eliminating jobs as rising mortgage rates cut off loan refinancings and volumes slow.

Regional lenders including Fifth Third Bancorp and BB&T Corp. are rooting for the Federal Reserve to let interest rates rise, a move that could help their results more than at some of the biggest Wall Street firms.

Carolina Bank Holdings in Greensboro, N.C., has bought back some of the preferred stock it issued through the Troubled Asset Relief Program.