Call it mutual respect. Bankers from mutually owned British building societies and similarly structured U.S. thrifts recently gathered in New England to address common challenges and share ideas about staying relevant at a time of rapid change in financial services. Here are the takeaways from their meetings.

Mick Mulvaney’s recent comments about the CFPB Qualified Mortgage rule have triggered a debate over whether regulators should take into account more than one underwriting model.

Supporters say pending legislation would help consumers with little or no credit history. But the bill would instead roll back key consumer protections.

Capitol Federal Financial has mostly relied on mortgages throughout its history. Its acquisition of a commercial lender will change that.

Mutual of Omaha Bank's purchase of Synergy One Lending will add reverse mortgages to its product line.

Wells Fargo must pay $97 million to home mortgage consultants and private mortgage bankers in California who didn't get the breaks they were entitled to under the state's stringent labor laws.

Lorie Shannon, recruited from SunTrust, will oversee a strategy that features large, non-QM mortgages in key markets.

The removal of costly appraisal requirements on tens of thousands of smaller commercial properties could help community banks better compete for loans they say they have been losing to nonbank lenders.

Preferred Bank's experience with an apartment developer is a reminder of how important strict underwriting terms will be as loan demand increases, rates rise and lenders try to outdo each other.

Leader Bank says it can land property managers as commercial clients by helping them handle tenant deposits — and possibly create opportunities to boost CRE lending.