Retail & Commercial

JPMorgan Chase has continued to take steps towards satisfying its portion of the residential mortgage-backed securities settlement, according to the independent monitor put in place to track the bank's progress.

Chemung Financial in Elmira, N.Y., has promoted Anders Tomson to president and chief operating officer. Tomson had been president of Chemung Financial's Capital Bank, the name the company uses in its Albany County and Saratoga County, N.Y., markets.

The federal government has taken the unusual step of suing a dead bank president's estate for repayment of bailout funds the bank received during the financial crisis.

The operators of a fraudulent collection scheme are banned from debt collections in a settlement of Federal Trade Commission charges that they bilked millions of dollars from Spanish-speaking consumers.

In nearly two decades of payday lending, Charlie Hallinan stayed one step ahead of state laws while amassing a fortune — one high-interest loan at a time.

Requiring brokers to come clean with customers about conflicts of interest sounds like an easy way to address biases. But disclosures are only effective if recipients understand how the conflict has influenced the advisor and have a way to correct that influence.

A Liverpool, N.Y. collection agency that allegedly engaged in threatening and abusive practices must close permanently and pay back $400,000 to debtors, according to a court order.

Late payments on home equity credit lines hit their lowest level in more than six years, defying warnings about the looming aftershocks of loose bubble-era lending standards.

The delinquency rate on loans backed by the value of consumers' homes hit a postcrisis low in the first quarter, according to the American Bankers Association.

Mortgage originators willing to help consumers overcome traditional financing hurdles can add more emerging segments of home buyers as clients.