Banking

Delinquencies are on the rise for FHA-backed loans, with nearly 10% of low-credit borrowers in early payment default. Economists and policy experts say this could signal trouble ahead for other credit products.

Eighteen months after the $2.6 billion deal was announced — and five days before the Oct. 31 deadline — New York Community is still waiting for regulatory approval to buy the Michigan bank. On their joint earnings call, the companies wouldn't say where the deal stands.

Mortgage experts generally expect the switch to open up lending and potentially improve the predictability of loan performance — but some are worried about potential costs.

Collins Community Credit Union in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, said Monday that it laid off 38 employees, primarily in its mortgage lending division. In September, GreenState Credit Union in North Liberty, Iowa, cut 42 employees, or about 5% of its workforce.

A Wisconsin taxpayers group asked the U.S. Supreme Court to block President Biden's student-loan relief plan from taking effect, accusing him of usurping the power of Congress and costing taxpayers potentially more than $1 trillion.

Bank of America Corp. is predicting a "shallow economy" though signs of weakness or stress aren't showing yet, according to its chief executive officer.

The American consumer is "in good shape" and spending more this month than a year earlier, even amid inflation, jittery markets and international tensions, according to Bank of America Chief Executive Brian Moynihan.

The settlement with an insurer over Countrywide's mortgage-backed securities closes another chapter on what quickly proved to be an ill-advised acquisition for Bank of America. A trial on the case had kicked off last month.

In a policy proposal published Tuesday, Fed staffers called for supervisory changes to accommodate banks with commercial real estate loans still reeling from COVID.

The same day Provident Financial Services announced it had agreed to buy Lakeland for $1.3 billion, the seller disclosed an ongoing fair-lending investigation by the Justice Department. Provident said it has "not heard anything" that would give it pause.

The Federal Housing Administration also announced it would incorporate similar borrower history into its underwriting beginning at the end of October.

The online lender approved Black applicants at lower rates than non-Hispanic whites, according to a law firm that monitors its artificial intelligence models. Upstart said it's an industry leader in fair lending but acknowledged room for improvement, calling disparities "an industry-wide challenge."

BayFirst Financial Corp. said it initiated the process of shuttering its out-of-state network of residential mortgage loan production offices.

The country's largest banks should deepen partnerships with minority depository institutions and community development financial institutions, and regulators should facilitate that process.

Banks including Wells Fargo, Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase have pulled back on financing for offices and other commercial real estate following a record burst of lending in the first half of this year. 

A new group called MoreThanFair aims to establish the lines between fair and unfair lending, to set best practices for the use of AI in lending and to lessen the stigma of fintech lenders.

Roughly 16% of home loan borrowers likely have education debt, less than one-third of those may be distressed, Mr. Cooper executives told investors at a conference this week.

The class-action lawsuit was brought on behalf of mortgage borrowers who were allegedly placed into forbearance during the early days of the pandemic without their consent.

The Consumer Bankers Association and the Center for Responsible Lending said the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau should renew its efforts to level the regulatory playing field between larger bank and nonbank companies that make installment and other kinds of personal loans.

A federal judge found last year that a credit reporting dispute did not have to be investigated because the consumer's complaint was frivolous. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Federal Trade Commission argue that the decision undermines a key purpose of the Fair Credit Reporting Act.