JPMorgan Chase (JPM) is laying off roughly 600 mortgage banking employees in Colorado and South Carolina, according to local news reports.

The share of U.S. mortgages that are seriously delinquent plunged to the lowest level in almost five years as improving employment and rising home prices move the foreclosure crisis closer to an end.

TowneBank bought a minority stake in a security firm to help protect its commercial customers and boost revenue.

The Chevy Chase, Md., network completed two loans totaling $40 million that were secured by long-term care facilities in California and Ohio, BancAlliance said Thursday.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency should further narrow the circumstances in which Fannie or Freddie can make a lender repurchase a loan. This would encourage lending and strengthen the recovery.

BlackRock, DoubleLine and Pimco filed a lawsuit Wednesday to try to stop the city of Richmond from buying and restructuring underwater mortgages through the use of eminent domain.

Buyers, sellers and shareholders rarely profit from bank acquisitions, the author argues. There are too many things that have to go right in the pricing and integration, and there is too much that can go wrong.

Quarry City Savings & Loan Association, a mutual thrift in Warrensburg, Mo., has applied to convert to a stock charter and sell shares to the public.

Carolina Alliance Bank (CRLN) in Spartanburg, S.C., has agreed to buy Forest Commercial Bank in Asheville, N.C.

Regulators are pressuring banks to serve as deputies in their crackdown on online payday lenders. It's part of a broader push in which government authorities are holding bankers accountable for the activities of the third parties with which they do business. American Banker staffers discuss what’s at stake for the industry.

Banc of California (BANC) in Irvine has hired a group of bankers to lead its new correspondent lending group.

Now the pressure is on banks to develop creative new products and services and work harder to show their value.

CAMAS, Wash. – Lacamas Community CU said this morning its new branch in nearby Andreson will feature customized ATMs from Diebold that feature deposit automation and so-called concierge services that allow members to bypass teller lines while providing more time for credit union staff to help members with more advanced financial service needs.

Fannie Mae, the mortgage financier seized by U.S. regulators in 2008, will pay the Treasury Department $10.2 billion after reporting its sixth consecutive quarterly profit on continued recovery in the housing market.

JPMorgan Chase (JPM) said it's under federal criminal investigation for practices tied to sales of mortgage-backed bonds that the Justice Department has already concluded broke civil laws.

First Citizens Bancshares (FCNCA) turned stronger credit quality, higher mortgage income and lower foreclosure costs into a 17% gain in profits last quarter.

First M&F (FMFC) in Kosciusko, Miss., revised its second-quarter results, turning previously reported earnings into a loss.

JPMorgan Chase (JPM) said the Justice Department concluded the firm broke federal laws while handling mortgage-backed securities.

Kentucky First Federal Bancorp (KFFB) in Hazard has received regulatory approval to pay a 10-cent dividend to its public shareholders.

Pressure is mounting for bank regulators to dial back pending mortgage rules after President Obama said he's worried the housing market could become too constrained by "overlapping regulations."