To avoid unwanted scrutiny from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and other regulators, banks need to start thinking about "what is fair, not just what is legal," banking attorneys say.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued a rule Friday attempting to clarify how it would use its Civil Penalty Fund, which holds money it collects as a result of fines against financial companies.

BNC Bancorp (BNCN) in Thomasville, N.C., plans to buy back its Troubled Asset Relief Program shares from investors who bought them in a Treasury Department auction last summer.

Patience is wearing thin among investors with banks' lack of prospects for producing returns, as a hedge fund official's call for the sale of American River in California shows.

As the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau works on finalizing mortgage rules, Kelly Cochran, the assistant director for regulations, says it is taking concerns about burdens on small lenders and access to credit "very seriously."

HCBF will merge BSA Financial's $168 million-asset Bank of St. Augustine into Harbor Community Bank when the deal closes, the companies said Friday.

Jacksonville Bancorp is preparing to offer shareholders the right to buy $5 million of stock. The $565 million-asset company said Friday that it will give shareholders the right to buy stock for 50 cents a share, the same pricing of a $50 million private placement in that concluded last December.

Hancock Holding in Gulfport, Miss., has raised the ire of analysts and investors in an unusual way — by unveiling a plan to cut costs over the next two years.

Provident Financial Services (PFS) in Iselin, N.J., reported lower quarterly earnings as margins tightened and noninterest income fell.

New York's governor is asking credit agencies to reset any scores they have already lowered and flag information that could damage storm victims' scores.

Central Pacific Financial (CPF) in Honolulu reported a jump in first-quarter profit as its asset quality improved and it recorded a tax benefit worth nearly $120 million.

Iberiabank (IBKC) in Lafayette, La., eked out a profit in the first quarter despite a series of large charges. The $12.9 billion-asset company earned $697,000, compared with $19.4 million a year earlier.

Rising revenue propelled first-quarter results at Sterling Bancorp (STL) in New York. Earnings at the $2.8 billion-asset company rose 13% from a year earlier, to $5.3 million, or 17 cents a share.

Disappointments, turnarounds and shocking comments -- banks offered plenty of them in their first-quarter results and executive conference calls.

People — and payment companies — are starting to take Bitcoin seriously.The decentralized virtual currency is overcoming its stigma as a fringe currency for illegal transactions and is stirring up consumer scrutiny of the practices of large payment providers. The payments industry is changing rapidly, but today the movement isn't about payments — it's about data.

RALEIGH, N.C. – State Employees’ CU has signed with Wincor Nixdorf to provide a variety of multi-vendor software solutions to manage its 1,100 cash machines, the biggest fleet of any credit union.

The chief credit officer of SVB Financial Group (SIVB) in Santa Clara, Calif., is moving to China.

Dime Community Bancshares (DCOM) in Brooklyn, N.Y., reported a small increase in quarterly profit.

The Financial Stability Oversight Council on Thursday identified several significant areas of concern, including operational risks like cybersecurity, overreliance on wholesale funding, and the impact of low interest-rates.

Facing strict new guidelines on deposit-advance loans, banks must now decide if it's worth their while to offer short-term credit to cash-strapped borrowers.