BankThink

The current fee structure has encouraged an unhealthy concentration of servicing at the megabanks, argues Stanford L. Kurland of PennyMac. The business must open up to specialty players better equipped to handle distressed loans.

Security experts weigh in on the media hype around hacking.

Calif. Gov. Jerry Brown signs bill limiting any lien holder from going after borrowers if a short sale does not satisfy the entire mortgage.

The Neighborhood Assistance Corp. of America has filed a lawsuit against the Department of Housing and Urban Development, accusing the agency of "trying to silence and undermine" the homeowner assistance group.

Faced with the reality that they might not be able to sell their homes anytime in the near future, more homeowners are choosing to remodel.

A Florida Bar Association opinion could have costly legal ramifications for banks embroiled in the robosigning controversy.

Breaking News This Morning ...PNC, USB and M&T: "PNC Financial Services Group Inc., U.S. Bancorp and M&T Bank Corp. notched solid second-quarter profit gains as the three regional lenders continued to see marked declines in the funds reserved to cover potentially bad loans." (Journal)

July 21 marks the 1-year anniversary of the Dodd-Frank Act. This octopus of financial legislation continues to entangle both consumers and lenders and if left as written will continue to harm the housing industry.

Regardless of where one comes down on the desirability of any one of the raft of new regulations mandated by the Dodd-Frank Act, there is no question that their cumulative impact will be to constrain banking for the next several years.

A writer was unable to stop fraudulent transfers on a Maine town's bank account.