Banking

The window for moving financial services regulatory relief through Congress is rapidly closing, but there appears to be little hope that the partisan tensions that have stalled the process will ease in time.

When he's not co-hosting his talk radio show or helping clients, Residential Home Funding's Marc Demetriou is studying loan program guidelines, a task he credits for helping him become one of the industry's top producing loan officers.

Loan-to-value ratios in commercial real estate lending have returned to their levels from the bubble days, Moody's says. Loss-rates look good for now, but trouble could be coming.

Guaranteed Rate has added 75 former Discover Home Loans employees as well as the Irvine, Calif., call center facility that they worked at.

Randolph Savings Bank in Massachusetts has agreed to buy First Eastern Bankshares in Andover, Mass.

Wells Fargo has named Michael DeVito head of mortgage production, making him responsible for its retail and correspondent lending divisions.

The price of loans that underlie commercial mortgage-backed securities rose in July on a monthly basis, according to DebtX.

After his son was born with a number of serious medical conditions, Atlantic Coast Mortgage's Thad Musser has made it a personal mission to show gratitude to the hospital responsible for his treatment. Little did he know these gestures would help him bond with customers who have faced similar experiences.

The commercial mortgage-backed securities delinquency rate rose in August, reversing an improvement in the rate in July, according to Trepp.

Credit unions are no longer the tiny cooperatives they were a generation ago.

The resignation of Stonegate Mortgage founder and CEO Jim Cutillo will likely result in either the quick hiring of a replacement CEO to execute Stonegate's business plan or the company being acquired, according to analysts at FBR Capital Markets.

Suncrest Bank is hoping that its team of experienced executives, combined with organic growth and acquisitions, will help more than double its assets in the next few years.

Marketplace lenders seek to disrupt traditional financial services with online platforms that connect borrowers to investors. But in real estate, this burgeoning sector has taken an approach that seeks to co-exist with, rather than supplant, the traditional mortgage market.

Credit union loan balances grew at an 11% annualized pace in June, while loan delinquency rates fell, according to the latest Credit Union Trends Report from CUNA Mutual Group.

The mortgage industry typically takes a conservative approach to employees promoting their personal brands. But it's time for lenders to take a lesson from the presidential hopefuls who have gained an upper hand by playing up their individual brands.

CMBS primary issuance won't pick up again until September, according to Barclays.

Freddie Mac announced last week that it will guarantee its second series of SB Certificates, which are backed by multifamily small-balance loans underwritten by Freddie Mac and issued by a third-party trust.

Blackstone Group has acquired a majority stake in the parent company of nonbank mortgage lender Stearns Lending.

Mortgage Master's Stephen Campbell and his assistant have complementary styles and that enables them to develop unique solutions to meet client needs.

The $3.9 billion-asset Luther Burbank Savings has opened retail loan origination offices in several Southern California cities to produce more jumbo mortgages. It is one of several lenders in the region that think jumbo loans are worth the risks to achieve growth.