Kate Berry has covered the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau for American Banker since 2016. She joined the publication in 2006 covering mortgage lending and the financial crisis. Berry also has covered big banks including Bank of America, J.P. Morgan Chase and Wells Fargo. She has won five awards from the Society of American Business Writers and Editors, and has worked at several news organizations including the Orange County Register, the Los Angeles Business Journal and the Associated Press. Berry began her career as a clerk at the New York Times.
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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.
August 25 -
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.
August 24 -
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.
August 20 -
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.
August 18 -
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.
August 18 -
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.
August 11 -
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.
August 7 -
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.
July 30 -
EverBank Financial in Jacksonville, Fla., reported a 20% jump in second-quarter profit, driven by strong consumer and commercial loan volume.
July 29 -
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.
July 24 -
City National Bank in Los Angeles said Thursday that its second-quarter profit rose 5% from the same period last year, driven by heavier demand for commercial loans.
July 23 -
The Mortgage Bankers Association on Wednesday said the housing market recovery has shifted to "a higher gear," and it raised its forecasts for total originations and home purchases for this year and 2016.
July 22 -
Bankers were pleased with the dramatic leap in home lending last quarter, but they cautioned that volume will slow in the second half as rate increases curb refinancings, nonbanks provide stiffer competition, servicing costs remain high and underwriting standards change.
July 22 -
Regulators gave conditional approval for CIT Group's deal to buy OneWest Bank, paving the way for an institution that would be deemed systemically important, with $70 billion in combined assets.
July 21 -
M&T, PNC, SunTrust and other regionals reported strong fee growth thanks to inroads they have made in investment banking, wealth management and other areas. It couldn't have come at a better time for them.
July 17 -
The combination of swelling deposits and weak loan growth continues to be a tough problem for regional banks. U.S. Bancorp's Richard Davis thinks higher loan growth is just around the corner to solve the problem, but PNC's Bill Demchak fears deposits could flee faster than lending will ramp up.
July 15 -
Wells Fargo executives received a host of questions Tuesday about the effect of rising interest rates on its deposits and other risk factors, but they said they cannot let uncertainty restrain their short-term actions and think some predictions about rates especially on Treasuries may be wrong.
July 14 -
Struggling to win business in the age of QM, Impac Mortgage has relaxed underwriting requirements in hopes of attracting borrowers many other lenders won't touch.
July 13 -
The Greek debt crisis and China's stock-market crash may put downward pressure on interest rates and delay the Fed's interest rate hike, and they are adding uncertainty at a time when lenders thought recovery would be taking hold.
July 7 -
After it all but stopped making real estate and development loans following the housing crash, Farmers & Merchants Bank has increased its real estate loans by more than 61% over the last two years. It's a figure that's likely to keep rising as California's real estate market heats up and the $5.6 billion-asset bank continues to add commercial real estate, construction and mortgage lending specialists to keep pace.
July 1
