Banking

Incentives for companies aren't the same as incentives for people. The QRM risk-retention rule doesn't solve "IBG, YBG" — "I'll be gone, you'll be gone." Banks appear to have been slow to adopt clawback policies for individual lenders.

NCUA has filed suit against another big banking company over mortgage-backed securities.

As the real estate market ramps back up, lenders are looking for ways to diversify their portfolios, even if the returns are slim.

Refinance volume may be waning, but lenders' reliance on consumer direct tools will only increase next year. Plus, the rise of mini-correspondents will keep the warehouse lending renaissance going strong in 2015.

The new estimate shows a 15% increase in purchase mortgage originations, compared to a drop in 2014.

Highland Capital Management LP won a $40 million jury award after successfully arguing Credit Suisse AG duped the Dallas-based debt manager into refinancing a shaky real-estate development.

Seer Capital Management is getting more bullish on U.S. commercial real estate. The $2.1 billion hedge fund firm, started by ex-Deutsche Bank AG executive Phillip Weingord, is planning a fund dedicated solely to buying the riskiest pieces of bonds backed by commercial properties, according to a presentation, a copy of which was obtained by Bloomberg News.

The expiration of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Assistance program on Dec. 31 will have "repercussions" for the economy, according to Fitch Ratings.

Bank of America Corp. and US Bancorp were sued by the agency that oversees federal credit unions, which claimed the banks failed as trustees over securities backed by home mortgages that defaulted after the 2008 credit crisis.

GuardHill Financial Corp. CEO Alan Rosenbaum has recruited veteran New York City mortgage originator—and former competitor—Melissa Cohn to bring an under-the-radar lender out of the shadows.

George Engelke Jr., former chairman, president, and chief executive of the Astoria Financial in Lake Success, N.Y., has died.

The amount of commercial and multifamily mortgage debt outstanding rose to a record high in the third quarter, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Nicholas Schorsch, American Realty Capital Properties Inc.'s former executive chairman, is walking away from a compensation package valued at about $100 million, company filings show.

AmeriSave Mortgage Corp. in Atlanta has closed on its acquisition of CertusBank's mortgage business.

If the Securities and Exchange Commission bans Standard & Poor's from rating commercial mortgage-backed securities, as it is reportedly planning to, bonds backed by a single, large asset would be hit disproportionately, according to JPMorgan.

Impac Mortgage Holdings in Irvine, Calif., is currently in negotiations to acquire an unnamed mortgage originator, the company said in a recent regulatory filing.

The Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corp. has given its president and chief executive, Timothy Buzby, a two-year extension on his employment contract.

Commercial mortgage-backed securities risk as measured by an index of underwriting and macroeconomic variables is up 11 points from 2013. That's still below its 2007 level, a researcher noted Thursday.

Mortgage lending, particularly for bigger banks, cooled some in October as home buying season ended. Meanwhile, loan pricing deteriorated again, showing that lenders are still cutting rates to land the best credits.

Profits from originating mortgages dipped during the third quarter, with independent mortgage banks and mortgage subsidiaries of banks reporting an average gain of $897, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.