Banking

The Columbus, Ga., bank reported higher fourth-quarter profit on growth in business loans and mortgage banking.

JPMorgan Chase's net mortgage banking revenue for the fourth quarter was $1.69 billion, an increase of just 1% over the same period in 2015.

Bank of America Corp.'s fourth-quarter mortgage revenue almost doubled to $519 million from a year earlier.

Banks have started reconsidering how much they are willing to pay for low-income housing tax credits as expectations of a Trump tax cut surge, slowing down some projects already and threatening developers with heavier financing burdens.

PNC's fourth-quarter profit improved on higher lending to corporate customers for real estate and other loans.

Wells Fargo, which lost its status as the world's most valuable lender after a scandal in its retail bank, said profit dropped 5.4% as revenue from its mortgage business declined.

A unit of M&T Bank in Buffalo, N.Y., has bought certain operations of Philadelphia mortgage firm Carey, Kramer, Pettit, Panichelli & Associates.

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.