Aiming to address a nationwide shortage of affordable housing, FHA has launched a risk-sharing pilot program that it hopes will encourage community development lenders to finance the rehabilitation of smaller multifamily apartments.

UMB Financial in Kansas City, Mo., reported lower quarterly profits after taking a loss on certain alternative investments.

Arch Capital Group is repurposing a subsidiary to insure mortgages that are headed for private securitizations. Insuring such loans separately from the unit that works with Fannie and Freddie lets Arch offer more favorable terms to lenders.

Citigroup has agreed to change its policies that prevented low-income consumers from opening checking and savings accounts.

Anchor Bancorp in Madison, Wis., has agreed to sell one of its branches to Royal Bank in Elroy, Wis.

Arizona lawmakers voted Tuesday to expand a program that helps doctors repay their medical school debts if they agree to go where they are needed.

Hudson City Bancorp in Paramus, N.J., reported lower quarterly profits as its loan book keeps shrinking.

Consumer confidence in January rose to its highest point since before the recession, according to a new report.

Doral Financial in San Juan, Puerto Rico, said that the FDIC has placed its bank under a prompt corrective action directive, an enforcement order that is often considered one of the last public warnings before regulators move to place the bank into conservatorship.

Expert Global Solutions Inc., holding company of collection industry giant NCO Financial Systems Inc., has announced a large expansion in Virginia Beach, Va.

Cullen/Frost Bankers in San Antonio has a new president.

Big banks had a forgettable fourth quarter thanks to old problems like tight margins and new ones like the collapse in oil prices, but executives who could fall back on products such as credit cards, insurance and investment banking had something to brag on.

Critics of online alternative lenders argue that their underwriting models are unproven and that a financial crisis could bring the whole industry crashing down. But while Lending Club and other startups may be relatively new to the scene, they're no greenhorns.

United Community Banks in Blairsville, Ga., has agreed to buy MoneyTree Corp. in Lenoir City, Tenn.

WASHINGTON — The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued a bulletin Tuesday warning financial institutions about entering into agreements with third parties that share or hide information related to regulatory exams.

Farmers National Banc Corp. in Canfield, Ohio, has agreed to buy National Bancshares in Orrville, Ohio.

At a hearing Tuesday, GOP lawmakers hammered FHFA Director Mel Watt for four hours over his recent decisions to allow Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to buy loans with lower downpayments and provide money to two affordable housing trust funds.

Zions Bancorp. on Monday reported improvement in its net interest margin and noninterest revenue, along with progress in regards to the Volcker Rule and its funding mix. But at Zions, as at other banks, progress was overshadowed by concerns over falling oil prices.

FirstMerit in Akron, Ohio, reported higher quarterly earnings as cost controls compensated for a decline in interest income.

Carroll Bancorp in Sykesville, Md., has raised $5.1 million through a private placement of its common stock.