Banking

Owens Realty Mortgage has promoted its chief financial officer, Bryan Draper, to chief executive and president.

As the purchase market heats up, banks are looking to utilize digital tools meant to make the daunting homebuying experience easier.

The more aggressive nonbank lenders are attracting top producers by essentially allowing loan officers to set their own rate of pay. While so-called "pick-a-pay" compensation plans are not illegal, critics say they can encourage loan officers to steer consumers into more expensive loans in order to increase their own pay.

National Mortgage News is pleased to begin accepting submissions for the 2016 Top Producers, an annual ranking of mortgage loan officer and broker origination volume.

Rather than relying on a formal marketing services agreement to get business, loan officers now have to prove that they can provide realty agents and consumers the best mortgage experience.

Jason Evans of Mortgage Master sees his business thrive through close attention to the finer points of customer experience.

For commercial real estate investors, the good times may be over.

Changes to the tax code approved by Congress may set the stage for increased privatization of real estate investment trusts, according to a new report from Fitch Ratings.

The price of the loans underlying commercial mortgage-backed securities increased modestly from October to November, according to DebtX.

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.