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.

New, stricter regulations on loans to active-duty service members take effect on Oct. 3. Here’s a guide for getting ready.

Suncrest Bank in Visalia, Calif., has agreed to buy Security First Bank in Fresno for $18 million in cash and stock.

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.

American Banker readers share their views on the most pressing banking topics of the week. Comments are excerpted from reader response sections of AmericanBanker.com articles and our social media platforms.

A federal district court handed the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau a major victory this week by ruling that the online loan servicer CashCall engaged in unfair, deceptive and abusive practices by using a "tribal model" to collect on loans in states with usury caps.

The slow start to Fifth Third's 3%-down mortgage illustrates some of the logistical challenges with such programs, which are on the rise across the industry.

Blockchain has become popular for some startups selling low-friction cross-border transactions, and Visa is looking for banks to participate in a pilot program to assess potential opportunity in the technology.

The Mortgage Bankers Association has long been a staunch defender of the mortgage interest deduction. But the group's president and CEO now says he's open to Congress reducing, or even eliminating, the tax break.

With even community banks getting hit by ransomware attacks, there's a long list of cybersecurity practices that bankers can expect their supervisors to scrutinize during upcoming exams.

Anchor Bancorp in Lacey, Wash., has agreed to name a new board member in exchange for a truce with an activist investor.

CommunityOne Bancorp in Charlotte, N.C., has scheduled its annual meeting as it waits for regulators to sign off on its sale to Capital Bank Financial in Coral Gables, Fla.

The inconsistency between what millennials say on surveys and their actual behavior should make bank marketers skeptical about building programs around such research.

United Roosevelt Savings Bank in Carteret, N.J., has agreed to buy Wawel Financial Services in Garfield, N.J.

The suggestion that any area has too many local institutions dismisses the importance of community banks and overlooks the dangerous effects of consolidation.

Amazon.com and Wells Fargo on Wednesday ended their partnership to offer college students a discount on private student loans, quickly abandoning what the bank lauded just six weeks ago as a "tremendous opportunity."

The chief financial officer of Green Bancorp will leave the Houston company in October, although he will maintain ties to it.

Australian banks wants Apple to open up its payments system to third parties. U.S. banks are likely following the situation closely as many are looking to renegotiate their contracts.

Coastal Banking Co. in Beaufort, S.C., promoted Charles Wagner to president and hired Thomas Flournoy to be its new chief financial officer.