Economy

The Small Business Administration should consider partnering with fintechs, which have the capacity to approve loans quickly, to help avoid the kind of application backlog the agency faced after the last government shutdown.

They all agree that legislation is needed, but the two approaches being offered are exposing tensions.

The government-sponsored enterprises are going through a transition period. From proposals for rebuilding their capital cushions to tackling shortages in affordable housing, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac face a number of key challenges with wide-ranging consequences this year.

The company has appointed President Gaye Erkan to its board of directors, potentially positioning her to replace longtime CEO James Herbert when he eventually retires.

While proponents contend the model could help reach the underbanked, there remain many arguments against it.

Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer, R-Mo., told the mortgage giants' chief federal regulator that the Financial Accounting Standards Board’s new model for estimating loan losses could pose risk across the mortgage market.

Now the organizers of American Bank & Trust must raise $20 million to open the state's first new bank since the financial crisis.

The private equity acquisition of the fintech vendor Ellie Mae will give it some breathing room in a declining originations market because it will have a more patient and strategic investor than its myriad shareholders as a public company.

The biggest merger in years is reviving the idea that the industry is headed for a barbell-like shakeout, with very large banks on one end, community banks on the other and very few in between.

Industry observers will be closely monitoring Mark Calabria's testimony before the Senate Banking Committee on Thursday for hints about how the Trump administration plans to proceed on mortgage finance reform.

The Salt Lake City company, which connects small-business owners with lenders like JPMorgan and BofA, plans to use the funds to expand its partnerships and customer base.

OceanFirst in New Jersey shuttered more than a third of its branches but says nearly all the customers stuck with the bank because it trained employees to show customers how to go digital.

The vast majority of comment letters to the FDIC support the fintech’s banking venture, in stark contrast to the public outcry over the pre-crisis ILC bids by large retailers.

The agency began seeking comments in December through a "request for information" on how to improve the agency's process for considering new deposit insurance applications.

The mortgage loan origination system developer Ellie Mae is going private, agreeing to be acquired by the private equity firm Thoma Bravo in an all-cash transaction valued at $3.7 billion.

On Sep. 30, 2018. Dollars in thousands.

On Sep. 30, 2018. Dollars in thousands.

Regional and community banks are eager to buy branches and hire top performers from the merging companies.

Wide coverage of the mega-deal between BB&T and SunTrust; GSE reform, CFPB underwriting rule are on collision course; Swift showing more swagger in its rivalry with Ripple; and more from this week's most-read stories.

Readers respond to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's overhaul of its payday loans rule, debate reforms to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, consider regulatory exemptions for regional banks and more.