Economy

In 1979, mortgage bankers worried that they could be undercut by "sleeping giants" like Merrill Lynch, Sears Roebuck and what was then called Master Charge.

As the Small Business Administration's flagship 7(a) loan program breaks records, its other loan program stagnates. Advocates for so-called 504 loans hope a drive to permit CRE refinancing will inject new life.

Just 8% of U.S. mortgage origination volume in the second quarter went to borrowers with subprime credit scores, according to new research by the New York Fed. The findings suggest that mortgage standards have loosened only slightly, if at all.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency is expected to issue a proposal soon that would require Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to purchase manufactured housing loans from lenders.

The timing brings Samsung's mobile wallet to market just a few weeks shy of Apple Pay's one-year anniversary — and in line with the expected annual refresh of Apple's iPhone line.

Homeownership is out of reach for too many Americans. The next president could change that with a few simple policies aimed at encouraging private capital to invest in residential mortgages.

Visa's newly established Bangalore-based technology development center is rebuilding Visa's presence in India, bringing fresh ideas to some older projects.

C2FO, the operator of an online marketplace for small-business financing, announced a $40 million equity funding round led by a Singapore investment firm.

Consumers' growing confidence about their ability to qualify for a mortgage is generating more foot traffic, sales orders and loan volume for some of the nation's largest homebuilders.

The longer the CFPB waits to implement tighter regulations for the payday lending industry, the more Americans will find themselves trapped in a cycle of unaffordable debt.

The relationship between banks and private equity has been tense at times, but the aid PE firms are supplying to struggling energy firms could limit the losses suffered by lenders.

In the heavily competitive mobile payments market, the fastest way to lose is to pin all hopes on one vendor. Rite Aid learned this lesson the hard way as a participant in the Merchant Customer Exchange, a multi-retailer mobile payments initiative that demanded exclusivity from its partners.

Eris Exchange, an over-the-counter futures market based in Chicago, is trying to stop Eris Industries, a London tech startup, from using the name Eris in markets where both companies operate.

Regulators need to be able to impose tough requirements on foreign banks with U.S. units in order to safeguard the domestic financial system from turbulence abroad. Sen. Richard Shelby's proposal to raise the asset threshold for systemically important banks would put that ability in jeopardy.

Ocwen Financial's internal review group is "independent," and the Atlanta servicer is in compliance with the national mortgage settlement, settlement monitor Joseph A. Smith said Tuesday.

A federal judge has overturned a New York City law that would have required banks to make new disclosures regarding their investments in local communities.

The first version of the Samsung mobile wallet is nothing like the Samsung Pay that is now making its way to handsets. But the one consistent theme in Samsung's strategy is to be the first to experiment with new technologies.

Capital One Financial is in exclusive talks with General Electric to buy the company's health-care finance unit, people familiar with the matter said.

Many payment companies are hosting hackathons to attract developer talent from outside their own ranks; MasterCard found that its own people are just as eager to bring their ideas to life.