Special Program Root Tag

In three separate appearances Thursday, Fed Gov. Lisa Cook, Gov. Michael Barr and Vice Chair Philip Jefferson said they are worried that U.S. involvement in the war with Iran could drive up inflation, leading them to conclude that interest rates should remain steady in the near term.

The 30-year fixed mortgage has increased by 40 basis points since February, while the 15-year is 14 basis points lower than a year ago, Freddie Mac reported.

Affordability improved in February as rates dipped below 6%, but March's climb to 6.43% signals tougher months ahead. Lenders should act now on pockets of opportunity before rising rates erode recent gains.

A recent executive order encouraging changes to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's Ability-To-Repay and Qualified Mortgage rules are adding to a packed agenda at a time when the agency has lost a third of its staff.

Some lenders and condo market stakeholders are raising concerns that new GSE rules ending limited reviews and tightening reserve requirements could raise costs.

Bank of Montreal has introduced a tokenized cash and deposit platform, while the London-based Monument is partnering with the Midnight Foundation's distributed ledger. Also, Starling Bank's AI play, stablecoins gain ground in APAC and Africa and more in the American Banker global payments and fintech roundup.

What was once a bipartisan and broadly popular housing bill has been weighed down with a pair of provisions that banks can't support. Even with those headwinds, the bill is more likely than not to pass, but not without drawn-out negotiations between the House and Senate.

The Massachusetts senator sent an open letter to Beast Industries regarding its purchase of Step with a list of concerns about crypto investment and Evolve Bank's role.

New research from American Banker finds that the largest banks are the top players in stablecoin issuance and on-chain technology adoption.

José Torres, senior economist at Interactive Brokers, breaks down the FOMC decision and Fed Chair Jerome Powell's press conference.

TruLookup for Real Estate reduces the need for Realtors to access multiple databases or download numerous apps when researching a potential client or property.

Banks are a critical link in the chain of elder fraud; blockchain is exciting and infrastructure is boring, but they're actually the same thing; and there are way more home sellers than buyers.

The investment firm is growing its digital asset portfolio in a "tokenization race" by being the external asset manager for Superstate's flagship on-chain fund.

Diligence Capital Management is pushing the beleaguered bank to add directors with bank turnaround experience. Eagle has been searching for a new CEO after getting battered from losses tied to its commercial real estate portfolio.

Huntington is among the banks investing in technology that embeds payments and financial services into nonfinancial functions — a move designed to counter the encroachment of digital wallets and fintechs.

The Apollo Group, a six-person team in New York, is the latest to show that former First Republic advisors are still not completely settled at JPMorgan.

Two credit unions in San Diego are locked in a bitter fight over a proposed merger; and a community bank in upstate New York fights off a corporate raider.

Piermont Bank hired Dennis Day for a new executive role focused on payments; the American Bankers Association announced the global expansion of its widely used Fraud Contact Directory; MC Bankshares moved one step closer to finalizing its sale to an investor group; and more in this week's banking news roundup.