Banking

The Federal Reserve said that banks reported tighter standards and continued weak demand for loans in the second quarter, extending a trend that began before recent stresses in the banking sector emerged.

But mortgage numbers remain historically very low and fall short of pre-pandemic levels, according to VantageScore's latest monthly report.

Gateway First Bank, a former nonbank home lender, rode the pandemic era's mortgage wave to No. 1 on American Banker's latest list of top-performing banks based on full-year 2022 data. Now it has to cope with the housing market slowdown.

Its One Ally strategy is meant to help the bank with personalization and cross-selling.

Consumer advocates are protesting specific risk-weighting changes affecting borrowers with lower down payments. Also, a broader increase in requirements may discourage depository holdings of servicing.

The association thinks this could simplify and manage the costs of two new pending credit requirements by allowing companies to add the one that's been through a price hike second.

The Hicksville, New York, company says its deposit base is stable and poised for growth four months after its acquisition of the failed Signature Bank, some of whose depositors fled to larger banks. Private bankers — including new hires from another failed bank, First Republic — are trying to win back lost deposits.

Post-merger Banc of California will target "in-market relationship banking" by focusing on treasury management services and loan growth to boost "low-cost" commercial deposits, CEO Jared Wolff said.

The companies have requested an extension of the floating-rate loan, which matured in July, according to a servicer report.

Michigan State University Federal Credit Union will open five branches in the Windy City to serve the more than 10,000 members and potential members living there. This marks the first time that the institution has expanded beyond its home state.

The Columbus, Georgia, bank is selling a $1.3 billion portfolio as part of a plan to pay off higher-cost funding. Though there are rising concerns about the office sector, Synovus said the loans it's offloading have pristine credit quality.

The recent conversion marked one of the final steps in the $8 billion acquisition, first announced in 2021. U.S. Bank still anticipates up to $900 million in cost savings and a breadth of opportunities to expand revenue from the transaction.

Several community banks noted an uptick in problem loans in second-quarter earnings reports. Small lenders should brace for more of this, industry observers noted.

The Wall Street giant has more than $14 billion of real estate investments, and it took a $1.15 billion hit during the second quarter from writedowns of those bets.

While multifamily late payments were flat, hotel properties continued to improve but office performance deteriorated significantly from the first quarter, the Mortgage Bankers Association said.

The bank's allowance for losses on commercial real estate loans jumped to $3.6 billion in the second quarter — up 64% from a year earlier. The negative forecast could portend trouble for smaller banks that have bigger exposure to the office sector.

The average credit union member had saved $286 less in March compared to a year earlier. That was the largest per-member drop in credit union history, fueled by rising costs of living and more aggressive competition.

Over 111,000 distressed mortgage holders opted into a loan modification program during the COVID-19 pandemic by using a designated digital platform or app, according to Black Knight.

Americans are so desperate to break free from credit card, mortgage and auto loan debt that they'd resort to dangerous deeds, a survey by Beyond Finance found.

Mayor Michelle Wu is offering hefty tax breaks to companies to turn offices into housing, the latest example of a city seeking to address the challenges of remote work hitting downtowns and a lack of affordable residences.