Economy

Several civil rights and community development groups wrote Tuesday to urge the Federal Housing Finance Agency to recapitalize Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

WASHINGTON — The Federal Housing Finance Agency is set to make the sales of nonperforming loans by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac more transparent, including providing information on trends at the individual pool level, according to a top agency official.

At least three community banks have hired lenders who once worked at banks bought by BB&T. The question is whether those lenders can coax their clients to also make a switch.

PayNearMe has long offered a service designed for consumers who prefer to use cash in a digital world, but even it has to accept the need to get on board with electronic payments.

The idea that restricted access to loans for poor-credit borrowers is unequivocally a bad thing is based on industry talking points that don't stand up to real-world scrutiny.

WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve will vote next week on whether to publish a blueprint for capital requirements for insurance firms under its supervision and insurance companies designated as systemically risky.

The Federal Reserve has been conducting annual stress tests on the biggest banks' liquidity since 2012 — tests the banks largely support. But as the Fed advances new liquidity rules, they're starting to question why more rules are necessary.

Banks have rushed to the exits when it comes to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac debt securities. Federal liquidity rules seem to be prompting big banks to do so, but why small banks are unloading the bonds, too, is more of a puzzler.

Many appraisers are charging more or simply refusing to do FHA work, which to their minds now comes close to, if not crossing into, the remit of the home inspector.

Well before the mobile payments explosion, incumbents were already focused on how to respond to nonbanks "piggybacking" on banks' payments infrastructure. As the consultant behind a 1994 banking industry report on the threat put it, "there is no time for delay."

The Inspector General for the Department of Housing and Urban Development Inspector General is not backing down on his concerns about premium pricing associated with the down payment assistance programs by the Federal Housing Administration.

Radius Bank in Boston has recruited a team to lead a national push into Small Business Administration lending. Among the new hires is Diane Gallion, a former executive at The Bancorp in Delaware, who will be national director of government-guaranteed lending at Radius.

Homes owned by single men are more valuable and appreciate faster than properties owned by single women, according to an analysis from RealtyTrac.

The bank's new low-down-payment mortgage, an alternative to FHA loans, dispenses with the complex qualification requirements that have hampered recent efforts with low down payments by Fannie and Freddie.

The Federal Housing Administration's loan sales are drawing more attention after a recent critical report said it was resulting in vulnerable borrowers losing their homes.

Recent legislative proposals to make piecemeal changes to the government-sponsored enterprises could set broader GSE reform on the wrong path.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development is telling lenders that down payment assistance programs still qualify for FHA backing despite concerns raised last year by HUD's inspector general.

TCF Financial in Minnesota has launched a set of products targeting low-income customers. The company, which has closed a fifth of its branches in recent years, hopes underbanked clients will boost traffic at its remaining locations.

As a top Republican lawmaker nears the release of a plan aimed at rolling back and replacing the Dodd-Frank Act, bankers are being cautious about offering any support, fearing it may open the door to changes they oppose.

As more mobile apps and businesses push plastic payments to the background, they also give prepaid card accounts a chance to reclaim the spotlight.