Bank of Astoria in Oregon plans to convert all of its branches to the Columbia Bank brand, nine years after the two lenders merged.

Focus Business Bank in San Jose, Calif., has hired a leader for its business banking team. Robert Gionfriddo has joined the $213 million-asset bank as its chief business banking officer, Focus said Tuesday.

Astoria Financial (AF) in Lake Success, N.Y., plans to raise up to $150 million through an offering of depositary shares.

Bank of America (BAC) cut about 5 percent of staff in its appraisal unit last month as the firm rid itself of delinquent mortgages, said two people with knowledge of the move.

Homeowners with underwater mortgages worst-hit by foreclosures are leading refinancings after the government expanded programs like the Home Affordable Refinance Program to aid borrowers, strengthening the weakest link in the housing recovery.

Staffing, policies and vendor relationships will draw scrutiny as community banks look for new ways to make money.

Ocwen Financial has added Wilbur Ross Jr. to its board.

City National will open its first street-level branches in New York to gain visibility in the city where many of its Hollywood clients work and live.

At an industry conference Tuesday, the consumer bureau's second-in-command fielded questions on the pace of its work, the experience of its examiners, and whether it is putting an unfair burden on large banks.

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Mid-Illini CU is putting its faith in a new branch inside Mount Pisgah Church.

Although lawmakers were ostensibly there to discuss the nominations to lead the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Securities and Exchange Commission, the debate over "too big to jail" continued to dominate a Senate Banking Committee hearing on Tuesday.

The upswing in acquisition announcements lately has been unaccompanied by the spiral of rising deal and trading multiples that attended waves of mergers in the past.

Lending Processing Services (LPS) is adding former Treasury Secretary John Snow to its board, the mortgage processor said Tuesday.

The House passed a bill by voice vote Tuesday evening that would allow banks to opt out from sending unchanged annual privacy notices to customers, a measure the chamber previously passed during the lame duck session last year.

Richard Moore became First Bancorp's CEO two years after losing a bid to become the state's governor. Investors are hoping his loss is the company's gain.

Private mortgage insurance and "senior-sub" securitization structures have advantages that could accelerate private capital's return to the mortgage market, despite the lumps they took during the crisis.

Panelists at an industry conference staged a feisty debate over the future of the bank branch. Based on the audience's reaction, it may be time to start planning the branch's funeral.

The $2.9 billion-asset parent of BofI Federal Bank said Monday it seeks as much as $50 million for general corporate purposes through the sale of common stock, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Institutions with at least $10 billion in assets approved 15.9% of loans between $25,000 and $3 million in February, up from 15.3% in January and from 11.7% a year earlier, according to Biz2Credit.

The future of retail banking has rarely been murkier. Here are five questions about branches, layoffs, technology and revenues that bankers need to be asking.