Regulation

The Department of Housing and Urban Development is reducing the mortgage insurance premiums it charges on Federal Housing Administration multifamily loans to encourage the renovation of affordable housing units and promote energy-efficient upgrades.

Amid concerns about the added complexity of the TILA-Respa integrated disclosures and growing demand for purchase loans, Flagstar Bancorp plans to reduce its over-reliance on third-party originations by expanding its retail mortgage business.

The combination of falling stock prices, higher-risk strategies and signs of worsening credit quality does not bode well for the industry's road ahead.

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush’s polling numbers are running in the mid single digits in Iowa, making the prospects for his campaign bleak, yet he retains much of his support among bankers in the state.

WASHINGTON – Risks to financial stability have risen in the past year across several key areas, the Treasury Department’s Office of Financial Research said in a report to Congress issued Wednesday.

Banking's top trade groups sent a letter to Congress asking lawmakers to intervene and stop a plan by the National Credit Union Administration to expand field of membership for federal credit unions.

Banks that prioritize structural changes in their compliance process will make risk frameworks more effective and sustainable over time.

Royal Bank of Scotland Group took a surprise 3.6 billion-pound ($5.2 billion) hit to the value of its assets and set aside more money for past misconduct, limiting Chief Executive Officer Ross McEwan's ability to return capital to shareholders.

JPMorgan Chase agreed to pay $995 million to resolve claims by Ambac Financial Group that it was duped into insuring mortgage bonds backed by shoddy loans, paving the way for approval of a much larger settlement between the bank and institutional investors stemming from the global financial crisis.

In the absence of congressional action on housing finance reform, here is what the Federal Housing Finance Agency should do sooner rather than later.