Kristin Broughton

Two consumer advocacy groups in California have accused CIT Group's OneWest Bank of failing to provide mortgages and other financial services in minority neighborhoods.

Steven Mnuchin is widely viewed as a top pick for Treasury secretary in the Trump administration. A Goldman Sachs alum, he is known as a successful change agent for his roles in the transformation of the failed IndyMac into OneWest and the revamping of CIT, but some community reinvestment advocates remain critical of him.

The No. 3 U.S. bank by assets has made a change at the top after a snowballing scandal involving the creation of fraudulent accounts.

The slow start to Fifth Third's 3%-down mortgage illustrates some of the logistical challenges with such programs, which are on the rise across the industry.

U.S. acquisitions have buoyed profits at Canada’s biggest banks, whose domestic economy is sluggish and possibly on the verge of a housing crisis. The banks are expected to pursue more M&A in the U.S. if that problem persists.

Quarterly profit at CIT Group plunged after the in Livingston, N.J., company recorded $167 million in charges tied to its discontinued reverse-mortgage servicing unit.

The $140 billion-asset company disclosed Thursday in a regulatory filing that the Federal Reserve Board downgraded its Community Reinvestment Act rating to "needs to improve."

Calling the crazy-idea department…a U.S. Bancorp-branded bus is more than halfway through a cross-country, social-media-tracked journey to promote community development and alter its profile. It's an example of the new style of reputation-oriented marketing being pursued by banks.

An executive from Regions Financial said recently that his bank plans to pad fee income by expanding into syndication of low-income housing credits. The comment shed light on an increasingly competitive business — and reminded the world again how eager banks are for even incremental boosts to revenue.

The world knows JPMorgan's quarterly profits fell and that it flunked the living wills test. But underneath all that were solid first-quarter results in its core lending businesses that bode well for other banks at the start of earnings season.

There is concern that a decline in condo pricing could create loan problems similar to those that cropped up before the financial crisis. Bankers in the area, however, believe foreign investors would take the biggest hit.

Fifth Third Bancorp in Cincinnati said Thursday that it will spend $27.5 billion over the next five years to provide loans and other financial services to underserved communities in its region.

A number of bankers used quarterly earnings calls to assure investors that they are carefully monitoring their exposure to commercial real estate at a time when regulators are expressed concern about eroding underwriting standards.

The Conference of State Bank Supervisors recently challenged college students to examine how community banks survived the financial crisis, and the contest highlighted innovative strategies used by Main Street banks such as Bank of American Fork in Utah.

Huntington Bancshares in Columbus, Ohio, reported higher quarterly in profit that reflected higher in mortgage banking fees and steady loan growth.

The Korean-American bank is looking to diversify its balance sheet and revenue streams before it hits $10 billion in assets. The commercially focused lender hopes such efforts will help it once more regulation kicks in.

Dime Community and Flushing Financial are selling real estate in the borough, taking advantage of rising real estate prices. The banks are using process to reinvest in branches and technology.

Ocwen Financial and Assurant have reached an agreement to settle charges that the embattled mortgage servicer profited from kickbacks on force-placed insurance policies with struggling homeowners.

Low interest rates may be pressuring margins, but they provided a lift to community banks that sell mortgage originations. Bankers are now debating how long the current refi boom will last.

Cherry Hill Mortgage Investment in Moorestown, N.J., has agreed to acquire Aurora Financial in Marlton, N.J.