Kate Berry

While many bankers cite new regulations or the sluggish economy as their primary challenges, PNC's CEO-in-waiting said that an even bigger hurdle could be figuring out how to charge customers for products and services that banks currently give away for free.

A group of about 50 to 60 protestors interrupted a speech by Wells Fargo (WFC) Chief Executive Officer John Stumpf on Thursday at a banking conference, taking over the stage with chants and complaints about home foreclosures.

Ally Bank continued its retreat from home lending by agreeing Tuesday to sell a portfolio of mortgage servicing rights to Ocwen Financial Corp. (OCN) for roughly $585 million.

The Comptroller of the Currency wants banks to hold more capital against mortgages in warehouse lending facilities, but small banks complain it could cripple a vital business.

Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., is urging the Justice Department to investigate Lender Processing Services for double-billing of foreclosure-related legal fees.

Regions Financial CFO David Turner is upbeat about lending prospects. But BB&T and U.S. Bancorp see signs of slower loan growth in the first quarter.

Rising real estate values, a dearth of inventory, historically low interest rates and an abundance of capital that needs to be deployed by institutional investors are all factors spurring bulk loan sales.

Housing counselors grilled mortgage settlement monitor Joseph A. Smith on why banks are not disclosing data that would show whether communities hit hardest by the foreclosures crisis are getting the bulk of the relief.

JPMorgan Chase (JPM) is selling off a chunk of its mortgage servicing operation to a Dallas company that specializes in servicing distressed debt.

Though regulators gave community banks an exemption for balloon mortgages, they carved out such a narrow definition that some banks would be forced to stop making them.

Consumer advocates remain frustrated with servicers for not offering more principal write-downs and loan modifications to help borrowers stay in their homes.

Short sales continue to dominate relief efforts under the national mortgage settlement, and Californians continue to receive the bulk of the benefits.

The arrangement is designed to give the bank some high-level mortgage expertise, but some industry observers have raised questions about the size of the $100,000 monthly fee.

Ally Financial is the first company to fulfill its requirements under the $25 billion national mortgage settlement, its top monitor said Thursday.

Banks will finally start to sell more distressed loans this year, and buyers will have to be careful not to overbid, PennyMac CEO Stanford Kurland says.

Fierce competition, a run-up in prices, and an expected jump in interest rates in the years ahead could spell bad news for banks that hold multifamily loans on their balance sheets. Cheap financing from Fannie and Freddie is also fueling concerns of a bubble.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is expected to be inundated with comments on how to rework the proposed 3% cap on loan origination points and fees.

The Detroit online lender recently licensed its loan origination platform to JPMorgan Chase last month and struck a co-branding deal with Charles Schwab Bank; now it is looking to grow profits by selling components of its mortgage technology to other banks.

Many of the changes, which were outlined late last year in the FHA's annual report to Congress, will raise the cost of home loans for consumers.

A ruling by a federal appeals court last week that President Obama acted improperly in recess appointing members of the National Labor Relations Board may encourage Democrats to cut a deal on the structure of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.