Corporate governance

Zachary Carpenter, tapped to take over as Farmer Mac CEO in March 2027, will now take over the position on July 1, with Bradford Nordholm as CEO emeritus.

A credit union service organization is buying the division, which includes mortgage services provider QRL, while the seller repositions its home loan business.

Panorama Mortgage Group's channels each had a different name, and SimplyPMG reflects a new emphasis on straightforwardness, said Hector Amendola, president.

"These changes reflect adjustments we're making to ensure our staffing levels, locations and expertise align with current business needs; efficiencies we have gained through technology; and progress against our transformation work," the company said in a statement.

The merger of equals, which received a chilly reception from investors when it was announced in July, closed faster than analysts had expected.

Last year highlighted the risks for banks in lending to nondepository financial institutions. A new approach by Trump-era regulators could change the playing field.

New Jersey-based OceanFirst Financial slid in its planned $579 million acquisition of Flushing Financial just before the end of the year. The private equity firm Warburg Pincus is also participating in the transaction.

Proxy advisory firm Institutional Shareholder Services recommended approval of Fifth Third's $10.9 billion proposed acquisition of Comerica.

A senior advisor at NAIC, the association of state insurance regulators, told attendees of its fall meeting that the imminent FEMA Review Council report should answer questions about funding for disaster relief and flood insurance, as well as other related issues.

The all-stock acquisition of Mountain Commerce Bancorp in Knoxville marks the Arkansas-based company's first M&A foray since 2022.

Recent high-profile ethics violations by senior Federal Reserve officials, including new revelations concerning stock trades by former Fed Gov. Adriana Kugler, have sparked debate over the effectiveness of the central bank's oversight, even as some observers stress such cases remain rare.

The Long Island-based bank hasn't been profitable in eight quarters, but executives maintain that it's on the right path, citing more loan book diversity, lower expenses and an improved margin.

The megabank's multiyear effort to simplify its business model and improve its risk management is starting to pay off in the form of more consistent profitability and improved returns, CEO Jane Fraser told analysts.

Fifth Third announced it plans to buy the Dallas bank in a $10.9 billion transaction.

As President Trump calls for scrapping quarterly earnings reports and switching to a six-month schedule, industry observers wonder whether the time saved would be worth the potential loss of transparency.

Consumers are so concerned about rising costs that they often forego coverage altogether, according to two separate studies from Valuepenguin and Realtor.com.

The decision to rejoin the CEO and chairman roles comes roughly two months after regulators removed an asset cap that had stunted the San Francisco-based company's growth for seven years.