Consumer lending

The Department of Housing and Urban Development has charged Bank of America with discriminating against prospective Hispanic mortgage borrowers at a branch in Charleston, S.C.

The burden of paying off student loans is increasingly falling on parents and grandparents, and a new report from the CFPB finds that these older borrowers are having a tough time making payments.

Ally Financial in Detroit has agreed to provide up to $600 million in financial backing for Carvana’s online auto sales.

The current single-director leadership structure of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is not a recipe for transparency and accountability. Creating a multimember commission to oversee the agency is the answer.

The state's highest court ruled that lenders affiliated with Native American tribes are not entitled to sovereign immunity and must comply with state interest rate caps. It marks the latest triumph for consumer groups and state governments that have sought to rein in high-cost consumer lenders.

The commercial-and-industrial loan space is overheated, higher rates could stifle mortgage refinancings, and subprime auto delinquencies are on the rise. Bankers could be fighting these fires and more in the new year.

Chemical CEO David Ramaker has a wide range of options — diversify business lines, expand organically in several Midwestern states, pursue M&A or all of the above — following his recent acquisition of Talmer. But new challenges accompany Chemical's higher profile, too.

First Commonwealth Financial in Indiana, Pa., has hired a former Regions Financial executive to lead several of its consumer lending groups.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is facing renewed pressure by consumer groups and think tanks to move forward with a plan that would rein in overdraft programs.

Smaller institutions have increased the size of their auto books in the last year, with the 25 most-active lenders reporting a nearly 7% increase. More borrower demand and a pullback by some bigger lenders are contributing to the rise.