Mortgages

In a moment of rare unity, the Independent Community Bankers of America and National Association of Federally-Insured Credit Unions sent a joint letter to FHFA arguing to stop the GSEs' profit sweep.

Total loans fell 1.6% at the North Carolina-based regional bank, which has been scaling back in key segments such as residential mortgages and auto. Wider margins offset that reduction, but earnings were flat and revenue growth small.

The Dallas company reported a 40% increase in net income from the same period in 2016.

Navient has suspended stock buybacks to buy and expand a debt-refinancing firm that faces stiff competition from fintechs, and some shareholders aren’t happy.

Net interest margin widened 12 basis points, too. Those lending results offset a decline in fee income at the Minneapolis company, which saw earnings rise 4%.

Under a joint order, lenders still have to document the value of properties in storm-affected regions, but they will not have to depend on appraisers.

With the housing crisis and the Great Recession well in the rear-view mirror, more and more credit unions are offering mortgage options with low or no down payment requirements.

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Bank of America set aside $100 million in its reserves for representation and warranty claims ahead of a pending settlement to resolve legacy mortgage issues.

Fee income also surged as the San Francisco bank reached the $100 billion mark in wealth management assets.

Wells Fargo took a surprise $1 billion charge in the third quarter for previously disclosed pre-crisis, mortgage-related regulatory investigations. It contributed to a 19% fall in profits.

While the House disaster relief bill would provide $16 billion in debt relief for the National Flood Insurance Program, it does not include a Trump administration proposal to ban new construction in flood-prone areas.

HUD Secretary Ben Carson said he's held off making any decision on premium cuts until the confirmation of key appointments. "It has been a real ordeal getting people in place," he said.

The Tennessee bank said it has bought Professional Mortgage in Greenville, S.C., which services about $1.1 billion of commercial mortgage loans for 23 correspondent life company lenders.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau was created in part to ensure that nonbanks are subject to federal oversight, but the fact is that 99% of banks are exempt from CFPB supervision.

The sale of the struggling Financial Freedom unit to an undisclosed buyer would continue CIT's strategy of shedding noncore business lines.

A change in the formula that banks use to calculate borrowers’ debt-to-income ratios, announced by Fannie Mae in April, appears to be spurring more lending.

The Louisiana company also set aside funds to cover efforts to settle litigation tied to its mortgage business.

At 1.56%, the delinquency rate on consumer loans remains well below historic averages, the American Bankers Association said Thursday.

Cynthia Blankenship, an executive at Bank of the West in Grapevine, Texas, has been a regular in Washington for years fighting for regulatory changes. She is encouraging other bankers to do likewise.