Lawmakers were sharply divided on President Obama's brief remarks regarding the housing market during his State of the Union address Tuesday night.

Ocwen Financial (OCN) is selling off parts of a company it recently purchased and another it expects to buy soon.

OptimumBank Holdings in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., has hired a veteran banker as its chief executive. The $150 million-asset company said Tuesday that it had hired Timothy Terry.

ConnectOne had a strong IPO on Tuesday, giving it more funding for loans and acquisitions.

The Freedom Bank of Virginia is planning to cash in on the anticipated consolidation of government contractors.

Interest-only home loans are viewed as somewhat risky by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, but that is unlikely to stop the San Francisco bank from making them, its CEO says.

Quick decision-making, cash on hand and dedicated employees are musts for successful buyers of loan pools, experts said in analyzing CIT's recent purchase of $1.2 billion of loans.

Developing new online platforms to lower APRs to 365% is a waste of resources. Instead, lenders can tackle the payday problem by partnering together, cultivating loyalty and capping expected default rates.

Smaller banks have historically shied away from equipment finance because it requires a lot of expertise that typically has an up-front cost. But a desire to book assets at higher yields has made the business more attractive, industry experts say.

The Federal Reserve Board has issued an enforcement action against the holding company of an Alabama bank.

Generation Mortgage, a reverse-mortgage lender in Atlanta, has promoted Colin Cushman to fill its recent vacancy at the top.

HopFed Bancorp in Hopkinsville, Ky., is bolstering its presence in neighboring Tennessee with a deal to buy Sumner Bank & Trust in Gallatin.

A decision by the FHFA to study further a proposal by Fannie Mae raises questions about industry pressure to head off a plan that seeks to cut premiums by hundreds of millions of dollars and end controversial payments to banks.

The traditional payday loan structure should cease to serve as the standard by which innovation in this credit space is measured.

Nok Nok Labs, a startup run by the founder of data security vendor PGP, is developing technology that could let biometric authentication mechanisms communicate easily with servers.

Banks are beginning to use considerable discretion in deciding what constitutes an illegal act and sometimes even an immoral act. Freeze the funds first ... ask questions later.

The bulwarks of financial privacy may, by default, become unsanctioned, underground networks like Bitcoin and startups run by youngsters brazen, or naive, enough to test the legal and regulatory limits.

BNY Mellon is facing a $900 million tax bill after a U.S. judge rejected its attempt to claim hundreds of millions of dollars in foreign tax credits.

American Express said Monday it is working with Twitter to expand its cardholders' ability to shop over the social networking site.

Grand Bankshares in West Palm Beach, Fla., plans to raise $6 million, according to a news report.