The San Francisco bank stands to gain from stronger loan growth, but Wells may no longer be able to rely on releasing loss reserves as a source of profits. Compliance costs and energy market volatility add to the complicated 2015 outlook.

A federal agency's plan to tighten membership rules for Federal Home Loan banks would hurt community banks and credit unions — and could endanger the financial system, according to a broad array of stakeholders, including state regulators, lawmakers and institutions.

Wells Fargo saw more of its origination volume come from refinancings, while JPMorgan Chase continues to rebuild its correspondent channel, the banks said in their fourth-quarter results.

The investment firm made the decision after veteran analyst Anthony Polini and an associate left to form a new research arm for American Capital Partners.

Mortgage application volume experienced the largest week-over-week gain in more than six years, but despite the FHA's announced cuts to insurance premiums, interest in conventional loans was greater.

Keefe, Bruyette & Woods and Sandler O'Neill & Partners commanded the market for bank M&A advisory in 2014, according to data published Wednesday by SNL Financial.

A ruling by the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday reversed a trial court's dismissal of a Fair Debt Collection Practices Act claim in Buchanan v. Northland Group Inc.

Small banks aren't disappearing-they're just getting bigger. Meanwhile, their large competitors are exiting business lines and selling off units. These changes suggest that regulators would be better off issuing rules based on lenders' level of complexity, relieving institutions that operate by a core banking model of unnecessary burdens.

Cream Group Inc., which operates as Oro Marketing, and its mastermind Sami Charchian have agreed to a permanent ban on telemarketing to settle FTC charges that they targeted Spanish-speaking women with false promises that they could make money reselling brand-name goods, such as Gucci and Ralph Lauren.

The holding company for 15 banks, which is approaching $20 billion in assets, has been testing cardless ATM transactions since the summer of 2013. Now, it is expanding the capability to dozens of machines — marking it the first institution in the U.S. to take the technology, powered by the vendor FIS, into production.

Pennsylvania defense attorney Nancy Raynor, sanctioned nearly $1 million when a defense expert made a prohibited remark about smoking during a lung cancer-related malpractice case, is now being told it's time to pay up.

Wells Fargo said fourth-quarter profit rose 1.8% as a strengthening U.S. economy boosted lending.

JPMorgan Chase, the biggest U.S. bank, said fourth-quarter profit fell 6.6% as fixed-income trading revenue dropped 23% and legal costs were about twice as high as some analysts estimated.

Jane Fraser, the CEO of CitiMortgage and head of Citigroup's U.S. consumer and commercial banking units, is handing responsibility for day-to-day global mortgage operations to her current mortgage lieutenant, CD Davies.

The agency appears to be on the verge of reining in lawsuits that have cost banks hundreds of millions of dollars in recent years.

Capital markets hold the key to the future for the consolidating Wall Street landlords, but the path through is downright bloody.

It took more than year for ViewPoint Financial and LegacyTexas to complete a transformational merger near Dallas. The company, which took the seller's name, is now trying to meet its targets in the face of plummeting oil prices.

Lenders and homebuyers should not expect further reductions in Federal Housing Administration's mortgage insurance premiums this year, according to Housing and Urban Development secretary Julian Castro.

As banks look to cuts costs and improve efficiency, many are actively trying to reduce the number of times they "touch" a loan file. The goal: get the application right the first time so it doesn't have to be sent back to the underwriter for time-consuming and costly fixes.

After 18 months of testing, Wintrust is rolling out technology that lets customers order cash ATM withdrawals through a mobile app. The bank aims to quicken transactions, strengthen security and pave the way for mobile wallet adoption.