Loan Think

Enforcement actions by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau against companies are well-known, but compliance starts with individuals.

The emergence of lenders that have no real connection to a geographic area prompts questions over how the Community Reinvestment Act’s “good neighbor” policy can continue.

The biggest change in banking in the last 60 years is the shift in balance sheets from business lending to real estate finance and therefore more risk tied to volatile real estate prices.

When the limits on two of Bill Johnson's credit cards were lowered from $20,000 to $6,000, his outstanding balances jumped from a perfectly acceptable 20% to a dangerously high 66%.

Returning Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to their status as privately owned public utilities is consistent with their mandate and makes the most policy sense.

Regulators' recent warnings on emerging risks with commercial real estate indicate banks have reverted to CRE practices that got them in hot water once before.

Mortgage servicing has a reputation for being cold and impersonal, but companies have the opportunity to put more of a personal touch on their interactions with borrowers by analyzing the wealth of data available to them.

Teardowns — in which builders or private individuals purchase an aging, outmoded house, then demolish it and replace it with a modern home that will suit today's homeowners — are currently on a tear.

A lawsuit brought by the City of Miami has the potential to determine the reach of legal actions brought against lenders under the Fair Housing Act.

Regulators sought to limit improper contact between lenders and appraisers, but policies of the two mortgage giants encourage the kind of practices that contributed to the housing crisis.