Account Control Technology, a student loan collection agency, plans to expand its location in Warren County, Ohio and add 250 jobs within the next three years.

M&T Bank's (MTB) first-quarter earnings were little changed amid a year-earlier investment gain as it repositioned its balance sheet ahead of its acquisition of Wilmington Trust.

Scores of community banks could soon deregister from the Securities and Exchange Commission due to a clause in the newly signed law. But some lawyers warn that activist investors could take advantage of banks that decide to stop filing documents with the SEC.

Bank of America (BAC) is preparing to sell off hundreds of foreclosed homes in bulk as part of its ongoing effort to clear out its inventory of distressed assets.

An employee stole $301,000 from Liberty Bell Bank. Because the bank did not have insurance coverage, the theft took a bite out of the bank's bottom line. Instead of reporting net income of $375,000 for 2011, Liberty Bell's full-year profit was $74,000.

Alliance Data Systems Inc. has agreed to buy the existing private-label credit card portfolio of jewelry retailer Premier Designs.

Afni, a Bloomington, Ill.-based collection agency, will close its call center in Peoria, Ill. and lay off 300 employees, the company announced Thursday. The decision is a result of call reductions from clients.

The board of directors at VIST Financial (VIST) in Wyomissing, Pa., has formed a special litigation committee to investigate shareholder claims that the board breached its fiduciary duty when it agreed to sell VIST to an upstate New York company for $86 million.

Bank of Montreal (BMO) is buying CTC Consulting LLC of Portland, Ore., in order to build its clout among ultra-rich clients south of the border.

Alliance Data Systems (ADS) has agreed to buy the existing private-label credit card portfolio of jewelry retailer Premier Designs.

Pacific Capital's calculus was simple: Texas financier Gerald Ford, majority owner of the California bank, decided its shares would never trade as high as the price UnionBanCal was willing to pay.

Improved asset quality and declining expenses powered Washington Federal in Seattle to a $34 million profit in the quarter that ended March 31, a 32% increase from the same period in 2011.

NBNK Investments PLC Thursday made a sweetened offer for 632 branches belonging to Lloyds Banking Group PLC, as the investment vehicle ups the ante on its bid to create a challenger bank in the U.K.

The period when banks report their first quarter financial performance is about to begin. These performance numbers will likely reinforce the reality that, absent significant changes, many banks simply cannot attain the level of profitability needed to remain viable.

More than one month after the Oklahoma Senate passed the Bartmann Ethical Debt Collection Act by a 40-2 vote, the state's House of Representatives has referred the bill for additional study.

U.S. banks and other shoppers were ready to feast on asset sales by troubled European banks, but debt finance expert Stephen Gillespie explains how accounting issues, regulatory policy and other factors have interfered.

First Mariner and Beneficial Mutual are among the banks that have gained large stakes in competitors after borrowers defaulted on loans where stock was pledged as collateral.

Heritage Financial Group (HBOS) of Albany, Ga., is entering neighboring Alabama with an agreement to buy a branch in Auburn from the banking unit of Community Capital Bancshares.

Actor Ashton Kutcher has invested in mobile payments provider Dwolla and wants to "build a killer [bleeping] company in Iowa."

With big deals still lacking, some bankers — including Umpqua's Ray Davis — are resorting to several small ones to move the needle.