Allissa Kline

The company says it’s making progress on other parts of its business-model revamp — including a shift to lower-cost deposit sources — while regulators weigh its application to buy Flagstar Bancorp in Troy, Michigan.

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon expressed even deeper concern Wednesday about the likelihood of an economic downturn than he has in recent months. Wells Fargo CEO Charlie Scharf was less pessimistic, but he still spoke of the “reality that the economy has to slow.”

The two companies, which have not received government approval to complete their now year-old pending deal, postponed the deadline to Oct. 31 and have decided to make the combined entity a national bank.

Multifamily and specialty finance loans, which were highlights during the fourth quarter, should increase further in 2022, company executives said.

The deal for Michigan-based Flagstar Bancorp, announced in April, was originally expected to be completed by the end of the year. The New York bank’s CEO expressed optimism that it will still get regulatory approval.

The Indiana company told investors that it’s ready to complete its combination with First Midwest Bancorp but that it’s unclear whether a recently filed mortgage discrimination lawsuit will get in the way of Fed approval.

The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated income inequality in America, and that has implications for banks and other lenders. Among those suffering most: renters, front-line workers and minority small-business owners.

CEO Thomas Cangemi is pushing to modernize a bank that for decades was focused largely on multifamily lending. The company has already agreed to buy the mortgage lender Flagstar Bancorp and its partnership with Figure Technologies, a blockchain-focused fintech, has the potential to make that acquisition more productive.

Fears of widespread credit losses have largely subsided, but demand for new commercial real estate loans remains lackluster because many companies are sitting on so much cash they don’t need to borrow. Meanwhile, competition from private equity groups and other nonbank lenders is escalating.

In a pandemic-scarred year, boards and compensation committees at 60 large and regional banks relied less on the normal performance metrics and more on qualitative criteria to determine bonus payments.

Like the fintechs SoFi and LendingClub, DLP Real Estate Capital is acquiring a community bank largely to lower the cost of funding loans.

First Foundation is relocating its corporate headquarters to Dallas, where the tax burden is lighter and it sees more opportunity to beef up lending, add wealth management clients and pursue acquisitions of community banks.

The company is exploring a range of options to diversify its balance sheet, but new CEO Thomas Cangemi says the best plan of attack is to merge with or acquire another institution.

Loan originations hit a record $16.7 billion in the fourth quarter, though executives caution that a recent rise in mortgage rates could slow refinancing activity.

Commercial real estate portfolios have held up better than expected during the pandemic. But rising delinquencies and fears of a delayed economic recovery are renewing questions about credit quality.

The multifamily lender named Michael Levine as board chairman, succeeding Dominick Ciampa, who held the role for 10 years. The move comes less than a week after longtime CEO Joseph Ficalora abruptly retired and was replaced by Thomas Cangemi.

The switch to Thomas Cangemi from longtime CEO Joseph Ficalora could foreshadow a push to curtail the company’s reliance on multifamily lending and the pursuit of a bank acquisition that lowers funding costs.

Longtime chairman and CEO Joseph Ficalora will step aside Thursday as head of the regional bank and be succeeded by CFO Thomas Cangemi.

Noninterest income has bolstered profits this year. But its growth is expected to slow over the next two years, making for a gloomy earnings outlook unless vaccine distributions and the economic recovery are relatively swift.

The company's outgoing CFO discussed ways the asset cap is stunting growth, but provided no updates at an industry conference on when the restriction might be lifted or the types of jobs it will cut.