Kate Berry

Wells Fargo has seven women on its 16-member board, a 44% ratio that is twice that of the average top 25 bank. It got there, in large part, by looking beyond C-suites for qualified directors.

Competitors have been spreading rumors that JPMorgan Chase is quitting the field, the bank's CEO said in a wide-ranging question-and-answer session that touched on Bitcoin, China, and his retirement plans.

Brian Moynihan, Bank of America's chairman and CEO, told investors Thursday that revenue from fixed-income and equity markets should decline by 5% to 6% in the third quarter compared with a year ago. The Charlotte, N.C., bank will continue to have a higher efficiency ratio relative to its peers because of the high costs of paying financial advisers.

Wells Fargo is raising minimum credit score requirements on Federal Housing Administration loans, part of the ongoing jockeying by large banks to limit lawsuits by the Justice Department for defective FHA loans.

The third quarter ends in two weeks, and top executives at Citigroup, Wells Fargo, and two regional banks are raising concerns about cost pressures, impediments to revenue growth and heightened lending risks.

Iron Mountain, the leading provider of document storage, is buying its main rival. If the merged company tried to raise prices, it might be the final straw that motivates banks to shift data storage to the cloud.

Wells Fargo has named Michael DeVito head of mortgage production, making him responsible for its retail and correspondent lending divisions.

The Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data set to be released in the next few weeks will offer new proof that mortgage lending activity was stronger than expected last year. That fresh data, the likely delay in Fed action on rates and other factors could prompt higher volume estimates for 2015.

The market correction and likely longer timeline for a Fed rate rise have sent some overly optimistic investors to the door, and now prices are closer in line with the fundamentals. That's setting the stage for a bounceback in some of the biggest banks' stocks and may ease pressure on them coming into third-quarter earnings season.

Walter Investment Management has received approval from Freddie Mac to hold the mortgage servicing rights on $3.3 billion in residential mortgage loans.

The Federal Housing Administration has resolved a long-standing conflict with municipalities and private companies that back "green energy" loans that is expected to benefit banks and other mortgage lenders. The next question is whether the regulator of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgages will do the same.

The global market turmoil could be good for mortgage lenders if a further drop in long-term interest rates sparks another refinancing wave. It also could spell trouble for those that have not properly hedged their servicing rights.

Bank repossessions of distressed homes hit a 30-month high in July, as financial institutions continue to work through the backlog of bubble-era loans.

The $3.9 billion-asset Luther Burbank Savings has opened retail loan origination offices in several Southern California cities to produce more jumbo mortgages. It is one of several lenders in the region that think jumbo loans are worth the risks to achieve growth.

Promontory Financial Group on Tuesday agreed to a $15 million settlement, and a six-month ban from accepting certain new consulting work in New York, to resolve an investigation by the state's department of financial services into its consulting work at Standard Chartered Bank.

Ocwen Financial's internal review group is "independent," and the Atlanta servicer is in compliance with the national mortgage settlement, settlement monitor Joseph A. Smith said Tuesday.

M&T Bank's disclosure that it is in settlement talks with the Justice Department for not complying with underwriting guidelines on FHA loans has renewed fears that more lenders will be targeted.

The Federal Housing Administration is expected to rebuff a government watchdog report that blasted down payment assistance programs. The report has raised concerns that mortgage lenders would have to indemnify FHA for past loans, and that housing finance agencies would have the programs restructured.

EverBank Financial in Jacksonville, Fla., reported a 20% jump in second-quarter profit, driven by strong consumer and commercial loan volume.

Andrea Smith, Bank of America's head of human resources, will eventually take control of the bank's stress test submissions. That assignment, part of her elevation to chief administrative officer, has sparked concerns about whether a human resources executive can handle a job normally given to a chief risk officer or chief financial officer.