How interested banks, REITs and other investors will be in replacing the Federal Reserve as buyers of mortgage-backed securities insured by government-related entities depends on a wide range of regulatory and economic factors.

Guarantee Mortgage Corp. has agreed to pay a $228,000 fine to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on allegations that it violated rules dealing with loan originator compensation.

The P-to-P industry in Britain has remained focused on individual investors, even as American firms have been courting institutional money. But the two markets may finally be starting to converge.

Steep legal fees used to make it difficult for smaller banks to invest in renewable energy tax credits. A new fund is looking to lower the typical legal fees that have made such investments cost-prohibitive for community banks.

Ocwen Financial's shares had fallen nearly 7% Friday afternoon, to under $10 apiece, a day after Standard & Poor's Ratings Services put the company's servicer ratings on CreditWatch negative.

Demand for automobile loans has soared to new levels, Equifax said in a Thursday report. Meanwhile, delinquencies of 60 days or more have hit their lowest point in nearly a decade.

WestStar Bank in El Paso, Texas, is planning to merge with First National Bank in El Paso.

Two private-equity investors have priced their offering of shares in Central Pacific Financial in Honolulu.

Bankers scratching their heads about how to attract millennials can take some comfort knowing that generations ago their predecessors also struggled to connect with America's youth. Crocker National Bank found a way, though.

Commerce Bancshares in Kansas City, Mo., has established relationships with several new organizations, including environmental groups and universities, to offer co-branded credit cards.

A lawsuit filed Thursday in New York accuses The College Network and its owner of scamming more than 2,000 New Yorkers, leaving them saddled in debt.

A group of 32 Senate Democrats on Thursday asked Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Richard Cordray to issue the "strongest rules possible" against predatory lending.

Same-day payments will be a big improvement for business-to-business transactions, but banks are still bound to lose market share to technology firms that are taking the complexity out of the payments process.

PBB Bancorp in Los Angeles and First Mountain Bank in Big Bear Lake, Calif., are discussing a merger.

U.S. banks are poised to score a victory in their fight to keep regulators from pinching the billions of dollars in fees they charge consumers who overdraw their accounts.

American Banker readers share their views on the most pressing banking topics of the week. Comments are excerpted from reader response sections of AmericanBanker.com articles and from our social media platforms.

First Citizens BancShares in Raleigh, N.C., has hired Brent Ciliano to be its chief investment officer.

PHH Corp. has been ordered to pay $109 million over allegations that it illegally accepted kickbacks on reinsurance premium payments after Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Richard Cordray partially overruled a decision previously made by an administrative law judge.

The regulatory burden for originators has not only been the main driver of acquisition activity in mortgages but also influences deal structures. Acquirers are looking to craft transactions so they don't get burned by targets' compliance lapses.

BancPlus in Ridgeland, Miss., has hired two Morgan Stanley financial advisers to lead its new wealth-management unit.