Mortgages

Contrary to expectations about growing mortgage lending volumes, current industry trends suggest a gradual reduction in capacity for both lending and servicing that should alarm policymakers.

A top CFPB official said Monday that lenders have adjusted their business models and practices to comply with new rules, while MBA CEO David Stevens called on the Federal Housing Administration to clarify its underwriting standards.

Steve Eisman, who profited from the mortgage meltdown, tells an industry crowd why he thinks the financial system is safer under Dodd-Frank, why Silicon Valley is "clueless" about lending and what the next "big short" will be.

Bankers may have a reputation for being old-school, but their rapidly growing digital-ad budgets are in step with the rest of the business world. Banks can both gather valuable demographic data from who clicks on their ads and better measure returns on their investments.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau can determine nearly anything to be an unfair, deceptive or abusive act or practice, and it's more likely to do so when lenders try to take advantage of regulatory loopholes.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development is taking a harder look at how mortgage lenders treat borrowers with limited English language skills.

PNC Financial Services Group plans to increase consumer lending with its current tilt toward commercial loans generating lower overall loan yields.

Provident Financial Holdings in Riverside, Calif., has restated earnings from its most-recent quarter after it booked higher loan-origination costs.

A fintech startup called Point is allowing consumers sell a piece of their home equity to investors, rather than borrowing against the value of their houses.

While troubling factors such as higher risk profiles may be behind the recent lending boom, the industry could also just be returning to the historical average for loan growth following the "Great Panic" of 2008-2010.

Home purchase lending hit its highest point since 2007 as low interest rates and growing consumer confidence continue to support the housing market.

Orrstown Financial Services in Shippensburg, Pa., has hired three former rivals from Metro Bank in Harrisburg: Adam Metz, Andrew Johnson and Doug Hummer.

Within five years, a dramatic transformation of the mortgage market will force firms to expand product menus beyond mortgages to develop stronger relationships with their customers.

A rising number of banks are looking to become community development financial institutions, emboldened by low-cost capital and an exemption from the ability-to-repay rule.

Though the Federal Housing Finance Agency has yet to provide full details about its new refinancing program to be launched next year, some analysts and industry observers are already convinced it will have only a limited impact.

Regulatory infighting over bond loans offered by down payment assistance programs has the potential to curtail lending to first-time buyers and do real damage to homeownership.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac can still manage their risk exposure even after reducing or eliminating "loan level price adjustment" fees.

Emboldened by supportive comments from presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton, community development banks are asking regulators for more leniency in areas such as disclosure fees and Bank Secrecy Act enforcement.