Flagstar Financial

The Atlanta-based consumer lender, which partners with both retailers and banks, cited a higher-than-expected cost of funds as one reason for its less rosy forecast.

Despite an overall weak mortgage originations market, Flagstar Bancorp's third-quarter earnings grew 20%, due in large part to its ongoing efforts to diversify operations.

A proposal to let certain thrifts operate like national banks blurs the line even further between the two institution types.

The Troy, Mich., company is operating unfettered by regulatory orders for the first time in a decade, and its CEO says Flagstar now has the flexibility to pull the trigger faster on deals and accelerate its diversification beyond mortgages.

The Michigan company had been operating under the supervisory agreement since 2010.

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The March acquisitions of a warehouse lending portfolio and eight California bank branches helped fuel a 22% increase in net income.

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Flagstar Bank, which is in the process of buying more than 50 branches from Wells Fargo, has hired Ryan Goldberg as a director of retail banking.

The low-cost deposits that come with the deal for 52 Wells branches in four states should fund the Michigan company's effort to become a commercial lender.