Banking

The Connecticut Housing Finance Authority issued more than $400 million of bonds in 2015 to finance mortgages at below-market interest rates for low- to moderate-income first-time homebuyers, according to authority officials.

KeyCorp will keep and expand First Niagara Financial Group's Buffalo, N.Y.-based mortgage operations to spur along its return to being a player in residential lending.

TowneBank in Suffolk, Va., has agreed to buy Monarch Financial Holdings in Chesapeake, Va., for $220.6 million in stock.

The Morgan Stanley settlement follows a similar agreement with Barclays Capital in October that resulted in a recovery of $325 million.

U.S. Bancorp has plucked longtime lending executive Tom Wind from EverBank Financial to run its mortgage business.

Eileen Serra, 61, the chief executive of the Chase Card Services unit, will step down in January and become an adviser to the company on growth initiatives, according to a memo Wednesday from Gordon Smith, JPMorgan's CEO of consumer and community banking.

Amanda Sessa of SWBC Mortgage relies on a broad depth of market expertise, offbeat outings and her partner and husband for support, to propel her business.

Add retail customers to the list of groups raising concerns about possible high-pressure product-sales tactics at Wells Fargo; many of them are considering jumping ship in response, according to a new survey of customer attitudes at big banks. However, Wells' rivals shouldn't celebrate — they are at risk of losing customers, too, for a variety of reasons.

Private real estate investors and community-based financial institutions have developed innovative ways to preserve affordable-housing units that were in danger of losing subsidies, according to a new report.

Mountain America Credit Union has partnered with Pavaso to implement a new digital collaborative closing process to provide a better experience to members applying for mortgages called QuickClose.

Commercial mortgages bundled into securities will keep seeing their underwriting standards deteriorate from this year into 2016, said JPMorgan analysts in a report Wednesday.

Morgan Stanley is readying a deal backed by 57 commercial mortgages.

There's been concern this year that commercial mortgage bonds are getting backed by loans that are increasingly risky.

When Guaranteed Rate's Sam Sharp discovered past clients' online reviews were bringing in new business, he started making customer feedback a major part of his digital marketing strategy.

First Bancshares in Hattiesburg, Miss., has agreed to buy Mortgage Connection in Jackson, Miss.

Intuvo, a company that provides marketing automation software to the credit union industry, and a division of CU Direct, announced it has entered into new partnership agreements with three credit unions.

A joint venture formed by a regional credit union trade group and a loan servicer has a simple mission: to help small credit unions that lack expertise in SBA lending jump into the booming 7(a) market.

Wells Fargo has promoted Tim Sloan to president and chief operating officer, a move that likely puts him on a short list of candidates to succeed John Stumpf as chief executive.

The former chief executive of a Nebraska bank has been convicted by a federal jury for lying to investors and regulators about considerable losses tied to risky commercial real estate investments.

Loan originations for commercial and multifamily properties rose in the third quarter, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported, backing up the group's projection from last month.