Banking

Two Republican senators sent a letter to Vice President-elect Mike Pence calling for the removal of Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Richard Cordray.

Weakness in the energy sector and a surge in new construction are pushing up vacancy rates at offices and hotels, leading to a spike in delinquencies on loans tied to them. The safer bet, bankers say, is lending on industrial properties.

Deutsche Bank is considering an unusual approach to providing relief to subprime mortgage borrowers as part of a $7.2 billion settlement with the U.S. government: lending money to private equity firms and hedge funds.

National banks have experienced a dramatic drop in loan modification activity over the past year, according to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.

Kenneth Mahon, the new CEO of Dime Community Bank, wants to reduce the 152-year-old institution's multifamily exposure by diversifying into other asset classes. But finding new business amid already fierce competition could be an immense challenge for Dime — and other community banks — in 2017.

The commercial-and-industrial loan space is overheated and higher rates could stifle mortgage refinancings. Bankers could be fighting these fires and more in the new year.

Deutsche Bank and Credit Suisse Group agreed to pay a combined $12.5 billion to resolve U.S. investigations into sales of the toxic debt that fueled the financial crisis, putting behind them a major dispute that undermined confidence in the banks and raised questions about their turnarounds.

Regulators have warned about the dangers of high commercial real estate concentrations despite bankers' assertions that they are managing risk better compared to the financial crisis. Still, CRE concerns could influence M&A and loan diversification in 2017.

For years, Donald Trump has used a powerful tool when dealing with bankers: his personal guarantee.

First Commonwealth Financial in Indiana, Pa., has hired a former Regions Financial executive to lead several of its consumer lending groups.

The distressed $149.4 million loan that backed UBS Group AG's giant trading-floor complex in Stamford, Conn., is up for sale, according to a person with knowledge of the offering.

Flagstar Bancorp in Troy, Mich., said that the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has terminated its 2012 consent order with its Flagstar Bank on Monday.

So now what? New York Community Bancorp and Astoria Financial have been mum about why they nixed their merger agreement, or where they go next, but the companies have a surprising number of options in the current climate.

New York Community Bancorp in Westbury and Astoria Financial in Lake Success, N.Y., have terminated their merger.

Citigroup's global head of retail banking and mortgages, Jonathan Larsen, who has been known as an advocate of digital banking, resigned for personal reasons, the lender said.

While depository mortgage lenders should exercise some caution before welcoming trended data and alternative credit scoring into their process, they must become inclusive or face losing market share to newer industry players like SoFi.

Fewer delinquencies are expected to accompany higher debt levels in 2017, TransUnion predicted.

The surge in mortgage rates since the November election is expected to offset the increase to lenders' short-term funding costs following the Federal Open Markets Committee's 25-basis-point increase to the federal funds rate.

Credit Suisse Group must face New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman's $10 billion lawsuit accusing the bank of fraud in the sale of mortgage-backed securities prior to the 2008 financial crisis, a state appeals court ruled Tuesday in a split decision.

Southern National Bancorp of Virginia in McLean has agreed to buy Eastern Virginia Bankshares in Glen Allen.