Mortgages

The Federal Housing Administration's mortgage insurance fund now sits in a much better financial position, but officials say it's still not strong enough to make the premium cuts the industry wants.

Gov. Phil Murphy signed an executive order Wednesday establishing a board that would come up with a plan to create a public bank in New Jersey.

And the government-sponsored enterprises could hold initial public offerings in 2021 or 2022 to ensure they hold adequate capital, FHFA Director Mark Calabria said.

Home loan originations rose by double digits in the third quarter while auto loan originations approached an all-time high, according to new household credit data from the New York Fed.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s exemption from the Qualified Mortgage rule is on borrowed time, but a House bill would allow lenders to use the mortgage giants’ guidelines for documenting borrower income.

Tom Marano, a former Bear Stearns banker, was apparently well compensated following the housing crisis for heading up ResCap and Ditech, both of which went into bankruptcy.

First Horizon, Iberiabank in year's second-biggest bank merger; bank failure in New Jersey is nation's third in a week; smaller banks take a turn swinging the ax; and more from this week's most-read stories.

The FDIC ordered the Seattle bank to pay a nearly $1.4 million fine tied to improper agreements with real estate brokers and homebuilders.

Top officials at Bank of America and Wells Fargo said that commercial loan demand is weak, even as U.S. consumers show strength. Their comments echo recent findings by the Federal Reserve.

Financial regulators have been put on notice about the risk of an economically damaging cash crunch in the home mortgage market. Behind the concern: the rapid growth of shadow banks in the origination and servicing of home loans.