Banking

Following New York Community Bancorp's acquisition of Flagstar, the company is ditching the regional bank brands that it long used. CEO Thomas Cangemi calls Flagstar a "neutral" but "patriotic" name that underscores the firm's nationwide expansion strategy.

But a great deal of variation in distress levels were reported between individual markets and property sectors, according to two new reports.

The avoidance of one of the harsher economic scenarios is good news for banks, which are also contending with tighter profit margins and increasing competition for customers. But loan growth and credit quality could be at risk.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency also is offering more opportunities for public dialogue as stakeholders debate how fast the process should move forward.

Merchants Bancorp says it will sell a total of four branches to two buyers and focus more on its core residential mortgage lending business. Banks of all sizes have been pruning branch networks in recent years.

When 55 banks were asked to provide metrics on the health of their commercial real estate borrowers, some of them gave data that was six months old. The survey by Moody's Investors Service also found that certain borrowers are already struggling, and others could hit trouble soon, since they'll need to refinance at high interest rates.

As the Latino population in the U.S. expands, so does the business case for banks and credit unions that want to tailor services for this audience.

The Department of Justice is recommending a sentence of 12 months behind bars for Carrie Tolstedt, a former Wells executive who has pleaded guilty to obstructing a bank examination. That's harsher than the recommendation of the U.S. Probation Office.

The Department of Justice cited American Bank of Oklahoma's lending record, as well as racially inflammatory emails it claims bank employees forwarded, in support of its redlining claims.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said it would determine whether its victims' relief fund could be used to make payments to affected consumers because companies that agreed to settle allegations of illegal telemarketing practices are insolvent.