Economy

Apple Pay users are fanatically satisfied — to the tune of 98% of in-store users and 93% of in-app users surveyed — making an average of 2.6 weekly in-store purchases and 2.3 weekly in-app purchases, according to the Auriemma Consulting Group.

Freddie Mac's second-quarter single-family funding was the strongest it's been in a year, positioning the company to supplant the coming drop in refinancing with purchase mortgages.

The first stress tests for regional banks show loan losses closely in line with the postcrisis period. However, an independent analysis suggests losses likely would be even higher.

JPMorgan Chase is the bank most integral to the stability of the global financial system, followed by HSBC and Citigroup, according to a U.S. study.

Heavier second-quarter marketing expenses at OnDeck Capital highlight a concern throughout the marketplace lending industry: the high cost of customer acquisition as competition from banks and nonbank startups heats up.

The small-business lender's shift 18 months ago to a marketplace player that sells loans to investors paid off handsomely in the second quarter.

While the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. has not deviated from a 2013 paper outlining a method for unwinding a giant firm, the agency has appeared to fine-tune its approach in significant ways.

Lawmakers included a measure that will impose new mortgage reporting requirements on banks and servicers as part of a short-term highway funding bill passed this week by both chambers of Congress.

Marlin Business Bank has launched a new site to compete with alternative lenders such as OnDeck and Kabbage, which specialize in providing quick and convenient access to small-business credit.

Home Affordable Modification Program denial rates are still high, but the Treasury Department and top mortgage servicers contend that the numbers have improved.

The Federal Housing Administration is expected to rebuff a government watchdog report that blasted down payment assistance programs. The report has raised concerns that mortgage lenders would have to indemnify FHA for past loans, and that housing finance agencies would have the programs restructured.

WASHINGTON — Republican lawmakers continued their assault Wednesday on a portion of the Dodd-Frank Act that grants the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. the ability to seize and unwind a failing banking company, arguing that reforming the bankruptcy code is a better way to tackle "too big to fail."

Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry laid out a sweeping financial reform agenda on Wednesday, suggesting he would force the biggest banks to hold even more capital or reinstitute elements of the Glass-Steagall Act.

Regulators have given the merger between CIT Group and OneWest Bank the green light — so long as CIT comes up with a revised Community Reinvestment Act plan. This condition is good news for the low-income communities impacted by the merger and sets a strong precedent for regulators' review of future bank deals.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency is still not producing enough adequately-trained examiners necessary to monitor Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, according to an inspector general report.

The Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program is renewing calls for further investigation of servicers it claims may be denying too many Home Affordable Modification Program applications.

Capify, a New York-based global alternative financing company, has landed a partnership with e-commerce giant Alibaba to provide cash advances and loans to small and mid-sized businesses in Australia.

The House Financial Services Committee tackled several key bills including ones targeting Operation Choke Point, executive compensation at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, small banks' exam cycle, and changes or delays to several actions by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

WASHINGTON — Three nonbank giants designated for tougher federal supervision received added guidance Tuesday on what regulators expect to see in the companies' mandated resolution plans.

Visa is partnering with and investing in Stripe, fueling the processing startup's international ambitions and product development while giving the card network added juice to build new technology.