Kate Berry

Shares of City National rose slightly Friday after the Los Angeles company reported strong first-quarter loan growth and good expense management.

But large banks have narrowed the gap as they have made a more concerted effort to better explain their fee structures to disgruntled customers.

Roughly 91% of the mortgages Bank of America funded in the first quarter were refinances — spelling peril if the refi boom peters out, as is expected.

Mark Zandi, the chief economist for Moody's Analytics, has emerged as a contender to lead the Federal Housing Finance Agency as the White House searches for a replacement for Acting Direct Ed DeMarco, according to news reports.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency on Thursday extended the government's Home Affordable Refinance Program for an additional two years through 2015. The program was set to expire at the end of this year.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Wednesday published a compliance guide for small banks and mortgage lenders to better understand and comply with a rule that requires lenders to ensure borrowers have the ability to repay a loan as well as creates a separate class of loans known as "qualified mortgages."

Bank of America, Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase all received failing grades on Fannie Mae's test of mortgage servicers based on overall performance, customer service and foreclosure prevention efforts.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is demanding that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac change rules to ensure that several thousand homeowners who got a temporary reprieve from paying their mortgage after Superstorm Sandy do not face a sudden spike in payments.

Mainstream banks have shied away from loans on manufactured homes because of high default rates, but a nonprofit group is asking them to take another look at the niche.

Mortgage lending activity was weaker than expected in the first quarter and the result is likely to be slimmer profit margins for a number of banks, according to Paul Miller, a managing director at FBR Capital Markets.

The plan, which was first reported by the Washington Post, sounds similar to a framework the Federal Housing Finance Agency unveiled in September to help alleviate mortgage lenders' concerns about exposure to bad loans.

Rising home prices and the ongoing quest for new revenues are prompting lenders to take a second look at a product that fell out of fashion following the housing bust.

Purchasing $34 billion of servicing rights would provide Quicken with a steady income stream that could help offset the inevitable decline in refinancing activity.

With branches becoming more like expensive billboards, banks are searching for lower-cost ways to maintain visibility in existing markets and raise their profiles in newer ones.

A bill by Minnesota's Rep. Keith Ellison would cap the mortgage interest deduction at the first $500,000 of a home loan and use the anticipated savings to invest in low- and moderate-income housing.

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.