Mortgages

Lenders will get a reprieve from the threat of some mortgage-related penalties under a new program announced by housing-finance giant Fannie Mae on Monday.

In a move designed to help further calm lender fears about mortgage repurchase liability, Fannie Mae is preparing to offer immediate representation and warranty relief to lenders that use its suite of automated quality assurance technology.

Record deposit growth, improved expense management and strong revenue gains from mortgage banking boosted Umpqua Holdings’ profits in the third quarter.

A strong and dynamic risk detection system requires focusing on the most important blind spots not satisfactorily explained by existing tools, rather than focusing on the "answers" produced by those tools.

Regions Financial in Birmingham, Ala., reported a higher third-quarter profit, citing improved fee income from mortgage lending, capital markets and credit and debit cards. It also benefited from some special items and energy-market improvements.

Bank of America, the second-biggest U.S. lender by assets, said third-quarter profit rose 7.3%, beating analysts’ estimates, as revenue from fixed-income trading was better than predicted and expenses fell.

West Town Bancorp in Illinois has revved up its government-backed lending to small businesses, making it a good example of how community banks can outhustle big lenders in the quest for new sources of fee income.

As Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac continue to experiment with upfront risk-sharing deals, some small mortgage lenders fear they will be left out of the action.

Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce Chief Executive Officer Victor Dodig said new federal government housing rules will slow growth in mortgage lending, though he expects the decline to be manageable.

Earnings season is set to begin with a bang Oct. 14 when four of the six largest banking companies report. The next few weeks will likely bring a steady stream of lackluster commercial lending results, good news on energy and mortgage books and (thanks, Wells Fargo) a whole lot of scrutiny of cross-selling practices.