Banking

High vacancy rates in U.S. office markets and the impact of rising interest rates on property values in Europe have prompted a brutal selloff in publicly traded real estate stocks and bonds.

As President Biden tries to revive a key campaign promise to provide widespread debt relief to student-loan borrowers after a Supreme Court setback, legal experts warn that he's likely to encounter a fresh wave of lawsuits challenging his authority to act without congressional approval.

PeoplesBank in Massachusetts and others have developed digital brands that cater to younger customers' demands for smoother technology and mobile experiences.

Under a 2-year-old program, homebuyers receive grants of up to $5,000 for down payments and closing costs. JPMorgan Chase said the latest expansion — to some new 3,000 census tracts in 16 U.S. markets — may help an additional 1,000 customers obtain mortgages.

The technology that powers ChatGPT can sift through and even synthesize massive amounts of data, though it must overcome doubts over reliability, transparency and regulatory risk before it can be harnessed to conduct useful research.

Transgender and nonbinary people who switch their names to fit their gender identity must send documentation to all three national credit bureaus in order to avoid a hit to their credit — and many aren't aware of the need to do so.

The proposed legislation from Tennessee Republican John Rose calls for limiting the sale of consumer information to mortgage lenders, but includes stipulations for those with existing relationships.

Cullen/Frost, Columbia, Synovus, Valley National and Associated all have relatively large exposures to the office sector, which has been hurt by the popularity of remote work. Their executives point to factors that offer protection, including the geographic composition of their portfolios and the types of buildings that serve as collateral.

Realtor, mortgage banking, depository, securities, community lending, building, insurer, credit union and fair housing groups foresee operational complexities.

Rising interest rates on loans, greater borrowing and higher fees on deposit accounts all contributed to the increase. "Altogether, this paints a picture of debt that could really start to strain the checkbooks of American families," said Meghan Greene, a researcher at the nonprofit organization that authored the report.

Under guidelines proposed this month, credit unions would see changes in the quality standards for computer-generated appraisal systems, along with when and how financial institutions and consumers can request reconsiderations of value.

The amount of distressed assets rose 10% in the first three months of the year, according to a new report from MSCI Real Assets.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued two reports analyzing banking and consumer credit trends in the South, where many rural areas are considered "banking deserts."

The construction manager for the beleaguered New Jersey mall is suing JPMorgan Chase & Co. to recover more than $30 million of unpaid work and accrued interest.

The American Bankers Association's Economic Advisory Committee said access to loans is likely to further soften, while defaults and credit losses could increase in the second half of the year.

Decision-making algorithms powered by machine learning are seen as the next frontier for a more nuanced approach to mortgage decisions but skeptics worry this will just be a new way to discriminate.

The findings from Standard & Poor's show little impact from the Federal Housing Finance Agency's proposal regarding what information is required to underwrite a conforming mortgage.

Bank regulators rolled out two joint proposals this month as part of a broader push to address discrimination in home valuations. Advocates see promise, but appraisers fear the changes could artificially inflate valuations.

Bank of America is also planning to expand into Madison, Wisconsin; Boise, Idaho; and Birmingham, Alabama, a company executive said. The goal is to find growth opportunities that don't require operating a large number of branches, the executive indicated.

CEO Curtis Farmer said the warehouse sector, where Comerica provides lines of credit to mortgage banking companies, has not been providing much help as the company seeks to bolster deposits.