Mortgages

The pledge comes as Fifth Third, which had previously committed $30 billion to community development, looks to close on its acquisition of MB Financial in Chicago.

The housing finance agency, which is increasingly at the forefront of reform discussions, has been without a permanent chief for almost two years.

Growing home prices plus rising interest rates are putting a damper on mortgage lending, which pushes the market to seek out less qualified borrowers and increases the risk of fraud.

City National Bank said the foundation will buy houses and hold onto them until the buyer lines up financing.

Despite recriminations about how the crisis and ensuing regulations have tightened loan access, an actual assessment of mortgage credit availability finds the situation is more complicated.

Strong growth in the bank's core business of multifamily lending was offset by higher rates it paid on CDs and borrowed funds.

The pressure is on for banks to lean more heavily on capital markets, wealth management and other nonmortgage sources of fee income. That could get tougher in upcoming quarters.

A new credit score that includes consumers' cash flow alongside their credit score is winning praise for its potential to help expand access to credit, but some worry it gives the credit bureaus even more data that could be compromised.

Despite an overall weak mortgage originations market, Flagstar Bancorp's third-quarter earnings grew 20%, due in large part to its ongoing efforts to diversify operations.

The Federal Housing Administration is making it easier for reverse mortgage servicers to submit insurance claims by expanding the types of supporting documentation it will accept on defaulted loans.