Several years ago, Grant Rawdin passed on the chance to become a charter shareholder in National Advisors Trust, a trust company owned by a registered investment adviser and designed to serve advisers nationwide.

Three years after the collapse of Bear Stearns Cos., which helped fuel the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, former bond executives of the firm are running businesses at onetime rivals, including Bank of America Corp. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc.

Morgan Stanley is starting to win more business from smaller private-equity firms after forming a group of bankers to focus on the sector and generate more fee revenue from buyouts.

Bridgeview Bancorp floated its name with 14 potential buyers, but it only attracted serious interest once it promised to divest a mortgage business that recorded a double-digit decline in fee income last year.

HomeStreet Bank will attempt to sell its stand-alone mortgage business and portfolio of servicing rights, a move that comes amid growing pressure from an activist investor to exit home lending and concerns about declining demand and regulatory challenges.

The government-sponsored enterprises are going through a transition period. From proposals for rebuilding their capital cushions to tackling shortages in affordable housing, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac face a number of key challenges with wide-ranging consequences this year.

In order to align financial policy with the interests of consumers, the agency should consider why these services have caught on — and remember to keep a lane open for innovation.

In “The Journey of Humanity,” the economics professor Oded Galor explores the complex question of why some countries have flourished while others continue to struggle.

The pending budget reconciliation legislation should retain measures meant to support minority homebuyers.