Retail & Commercial

Banks have rushed to the exits when it comes to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac debt securities. Federal liquidity rules seem to be prompting big banks to do so, but why small banks are unloading the bonds, too, is more of a puzzler.

In addition to credit risk from leveraged loans and other types of assets, an added worry for participations is how they would be treated in a failure of the originating bank.

Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson filed a lawsuit Thursday accusing a Florida-based company and its owners of charging students illegal fees for debt relief services.

Many appraisers are charging more or simply refusing to do FHA work, which to their minds now comes close to, if not crossing into, the remit of the home inspector.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau reached an $85,000 settlement Wednesday with a former Wells Fargo mortgage loan officer.

Coin-counting machines came into vogue in the 1990s when Commerce Bank started installing "Penny Arcades" in its branches throughout New Jersey. They were a huge hit for a while, but banks have soured on the machines in recent years as usage declined and maintenance costs increased.

Well before the mobile payments explosion, incumbents were already focused on how to respond to nonbanks "piggybacking" on banks' payments infrastructure. As the consultant behind a 1994 banking industry report on the threat put it, "there is no time for delay."

LendingClub, the online loan platform looking to restore investor confidence, is in talks with Citigroup to arrange more funding for the debts it arranges, according to a person with knowledge of the matter.

Academics are challenging the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's study of auto title loans, calling the findings inconsistent with state data.

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