That’s the message that two funds have for directors of Commonwealth Business Bank in Los Angeles.

Loans tied to franchises were often an area of concern for banks before the financial crisis. Industry growth, improved credit metrics and a need to diversify commercial loan portfolios are prompting several banks to take a second look at the business.

The companies agreed to divest the branches, along with nearly $738 million in deposits, to secure Justice Department approval.

Jack Kuntz, president and chief executive at American Savings Bank in Portsmouth, Ohio, recently put his personal cell phone number on a billboard off Interstate 71 in Cincinnati as part of an advertising campaign for his $260 million-asset institution.

JPMorgan Chase, Barclays and other big financial institutions are offering paid internships to members of the sandwich generation who left banking to care for children and elderly parents. Here's why the banks are interested.

OceanFirst Financial in Toms River, N.J., has agreed to buy Ocean Shore Holding in Ocean City, N.J.

Horizon Bancorp in Michigan City, Ind., has agreed to buy CNB Bancorp in Attica, Ind.

KeyCorp has received the Federal Reserve Board's approval to buy First Niagara Financial Group. The $4.1 billion deal is expected to be completed on or about Aug. 1.

Despite recent controversy over Tesla crashes, the march toward autonomous driving technology continues. And that means big changes for auto lenders.

A couple of years ago, the activist investor Joseph Stilwell said Anchor Bancorp in Lacey, Wash., deserved more time to try to right itself. Apparently he thinks that time is up.

Banks with a special focus, such as social equality or environmental sustainability, have to overcome additional hurdles while looking for an acquisition.

The leading Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee said Tuesday he was "optimistic" about lawmakers' making changes to improve the Dodd-Frank Act next year, while lauding JPMorgan Chase's decision to raise its minimum wage from $10.15 an hour to $12.

BancAlliance, a consortium of more than 200 community banks, is partnering with the digital wealth management firm Personal Capital.

The combination of smarter consumers and likely CFPB action have, oddly enough, pushed banks, especially large ones, to raise overdraft fees in recent months.

Offering a new product or considering a merger may boost returns, but the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency says changes in strategy can be risky.

The management team at Bank of the Ozarks knows it has a dependency on commercial real estate. But they assert that sound underwriting, and efforts to diversify, are what really matters when assessing risk.

First Hawaiian Bank in Honolulu will be spun off rather than sold.

KeyCorp's proposed acquisition of First Niagara Financial has won support from Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, who had opposed the deal because of planned job losses in his state, after KeyCorp agreed to cut no more than 250 positions after the merger.

Royal Bank of Canada and CIBC have plunked down $9 billion in the past year to buy U.S. banks, ending a brief lull from Canadian banks. Expect more activity from those banks and others.

Cathay General Bancorp in Los Angeles has agreed to buy SinoPac Bancorp from Bank SinoPac in Taiwan.