Economy

Lending Club and Funding Circle are among the firms pledging to adhere to a range of self-imposed standards in small-business lending.

The New York Bankers Association is challenging the legality of a local law that is designed to cajole banks into making larger investments in poorer communities. The outcome could be an important precedent in relation to similar laws in other cities.

BB&T will dismiss most of a 21-person small business lending group who had been employed by Susquehanna Bancshares.

Despite being introduced to the market with great fanfare, Fannie Mae's 3% down payment mortgage offering has yet to gain much traction with lenders and consumers.

M&T Bank said it's in discussions with U.S. officials to settle an investigation into the lender's origination and sale of federally insured home loans.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has ramped up its push for the mortgage industry to switch to an electronic closing process after results from a pilot program showed consumers favored it over in-person mortgage closing.

Prospective borrowers for single-family homes will be required to make a minimum down payment of 15% of the purchase price, down from 20%. The borrower must have a minimum FICO score of 680, down from 740.

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.