Economy

A proposal allowing more lenders to skip outside appraisals could remove a hurdle to quick closings, but appraisers say they could be collateral damage.

The current deputy secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Pam Patenaude, will step down in January.

As Congress races to fund the government, a criminal justice reform bill could also include the STATES Act, which would provide safe harbor for credit unions serving the legal marijuana industry.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has gotten the ball rolling for financial technology firms trying to operate a national platform, but the FDIC and Federal Reserve should act to remove other policy roadblocks.

Chicago Deferred Exchange, which helps clients defer tax hits from property sales, had about $1 billion in deposit flows this year.

What an FHFA led by Mark Calabria would mean for GSE reform; 7 (realistic) predictions about fintech in 2019; Kathy Kraninger signals new tone atop CFPB; and more from this week's most-read stories.

Live Oak Bancshares became an SBA juggernaut by making loans, selling them and making more. With economic conditions changing, it is retaining more credits.

As Congress moves closer to its Dec. 21 deadline to keep the government funded, the outlook for more financial services regulatory relief continues to worsen.

The alternative is waiting for state and federal regulators to take steps that could disrupt the flow of capital and put some firms out of business.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency has proposed barring Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from using credit scores developed by VantageScore over concern about conflicts of interest with the joint venture of Equifax, Experian and TransUnion.

Sen.-elect Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., and Sen. Tina Smith, D-Minn., will join the panel as their caucus loses two other committee members who suffered election defeats.

Robinhood Financial, one of the most valuable private companies in the financial technology space, is rolling out its take on the traditional bank account starting on Thursday.

The two agencies seek to end the acrimony with the companies they regulate; the government is trying to make it easier for the wounded Deutsche Bank to merge with rival Commerzbank.

Synovus has given CFO Kevin Blair the additional title of COO. He will oversee three business lines, plus tech, operations and product and treasury management.

The U.S. subsidiary of the Royal Bank of Canada has added bankers from MUFG Union Bank and Bank of America to its Orange County, Calif., team that serves the aerospace and defense industry.

Millyard Bank aims to become the state's second post-crisis de novo. Primary Bank opened in 2015.

The White House confirmed that it plans to nominate Mark Calabria as the next director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency.

An agency report said servicing portfolios have shrunk by nearly half in 10 years as much of the mortgage market has shifted to nonbanks.

With Brexit on the horizon, the volatility of the U.K. financial market has created an increased demand for more flexible financing among small and medium-sized enterprises. But a decade on from the 2008 financial crisis, the loans available for SMEs are still restricted by regulations on the total amount of capital that banks must hold.

Associated will gain low-cost deposits and branches in 13 new markets after the deal closes.