Banks can boost mortgage profits with the help of direct call centers and products like adjustable-rate mortgages and jumbo loans, writes Stratmor Group's Garth Graham.

Brookline Bancorp in Boston reported higher quarterly earnings because of loan growth.

Banc of California in Irvine reported a jump in second-quarter profits, fueled by strong growth in its loan portfolio.

The mortgage interest tax deduction is supposed to encourage homeownership among low- and middle-income Americans. But it primarily benefits higher-income taxpayers, according to a new study from the Mercatus Center at George Mason University.

American Express Co. Chief Executive Officer Kenneth I. Chenault defended company rules that bar merchants from asking customers to use cards with lower processing costs as a needed measure to protect its brand.

TFS Financial in Cleveland reported that its quarterly profits increased as net interest income rose and its loan-loss provision shrank.

Capital One and three collection agencies will pay $75 million to settle Telephone Consumer Protection Act class-action claims. It's the largest cash settlement in the TCPA's history.

Old National Bancorp in Evansville, Ind., has spent the last year buying its way into higher-growth markets, including a deal announced Monday in Grand Rapids, Mich. CEO Bob Jones is still antsy to expand in Louisville but acknowledges that shareholders want him to take a break from M&A.

EverBank Financial in Jacksonville, Fla. reported a decline in second-quarter earnings as loan servicing fees and loan production revenue plunged.

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio announced $350 million in loans for affordable housing provided by banks led by Citigroup Inc. (C) as he forges closer ties to Wall Street, once one of his loudest critics.

Home Bancshares in Conway, Ark., has agreed to acquire Broward Financial Holdings in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

Most bankers expect to see deposits flow out of their coffers next year if interest rates rise as expected, and some are starting to estimate how many. Whether the trend is good or bad depends on each bank's specific situation, but everybody has to get ready.

Cullen/Frost Bankers in San Antonio, Texas, reported an uptick second-quarter earnings, boosted by its recent acquisition of WNB Bancshares.

Bank of America's Countrywide unit was ordered to pay $1.3 billion in penalties for defective mortgage loans it sold to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in the run-up to the 2008 financial crisis, a little more than half of what the U.S. had requested.

Doral Financial, the holding company for Puerto Rico's second-largest mortgage lender, is trying to sell itself in parts, people with knowledge of the matter said, to maintain compliance with capital requirements.

Patrick Sinks is taking the reins at MGIC as the mortgage insurer faces tougher capital standards and a more competitive field where his company is no longer No. 1.

The Justice Department's legal case against American Express will not benefit consumers and will weaken competition, said Jeff Campbell, executive vice president and CFO of American Express.

First Data Corp. has agreed to buy Gyft Inc., which sells digital gift cards, in a move to advance the Atlanta-based processor's mobile payment offerings.

Tighter margins held back BOK Financial in Tulsa, Okla., last quarter. The $28 billion-asset company reported a profit of $76.7 million, down 4% from the same period last year.

Bank owners can make more objective decisions about whether it's the right time to sell by comparing the value of holding onto the bank to its private market price and instating an external review process, writes consultant J.V. Rizzi.