Corporate governance

Mutual of Omaha Bank company Synergy One Lending is preparing to acquire certain assets of BBMC Mortgage, a national mortgage company and division of Bridgeview Bank, which will expand its Midwest footprint and improve its strategic direction.

The company is facing criticism after a big chargeoff on two properties, showing that investors have little patience when a risky business model shows signs of distress.

The uproar over the incendiary writings of a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau official have led to calls for his removal, but the agency’s interim chief says he won’t “let any outside group dictate who works here.”

First Foundation sold loans to Freddie Mac to free up space for higher-yielding credits. It then bought the securities that were formed to replace other, lower-yielding assets through an often overlooked program.

Bemortgage, currently a division of Chicago's Bridgeview Bank formed last November by a former Guaranteed Rate executive, will become a part of CrossCountry Mortgage.

As the House Financial Services Committee prepares to hold a hearing Thursday on oversight of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, the exact focus of the hearing remains somewhat in flux.

The cuts are part of a broader effort to trim expenses by roughly $3 billion a year by 2020.

Level One Bank in Farmington, Mich., has hired a team of mortgage bankers from MB Financial, which previously announced it was shutting down this business line.

Banks could shed as much as 20 million square feet of office space over the next five years as they shift many functions to high-tech operations centers in markets with cheaper rents.

The deal is designed to improve capital ratios and reduce risk at the Seattle company.