Banking

Mortgage finance stakeholders must pay careful attention to “nuts-and-bolts” which, if ignored or misunderstood, can become landmines when implementing even the most well-intended new policies or practices writes a senior advisor at the Milken Institute Center for Financial Markets

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is examining whether artificial intelligence discriminates against minorities and other applicants. But GreenState Credit Union in Iowa says the technology can be harnessed to make lending fairer in underserved communities.

The Federal Reserve has hired five executives from the stablecoin issuer Circle and at least one employee of Ripple since 2019 as part of its technology-focused recruiting efforts. It plans to do more hiring in the years ahead to aid its work on faster payments and central bank digital currencies.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency recently decided to put an official in charge of the rising number of small and midsize national banks that partner with fintechs or have nontraditional business plans. The agency’s goal is to establish a team that understands cutting-edge technologies and establishes consistent oversight policies in response.

Mike Roffler, the San Francisco bank’s incoming chief executive, says he’s not shifting strategy. During the first quarter, the company leaned on its mortgage business, where customers moved to lock in refinancings before interest rates rose.

As inflation increases, more companies are shifting to remote and hybrid work to get their costs under control. Landlords could face rising vacancies and tumbling revenue, leaving them behind on loan payments.

A new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau lawsuit claims the credit bureau and the ex-leader of a key unit failed to comply with a 2017 order to stop misleading consumers about credit reporting and monitoring services.

While relatively few of these consumers have applied for mortgages recently, the findings point to an untapped market that lenders might be able to reach out to as refinancing dries up.

New York Fed researchers found that banks operating in areas hit by tornadoes, floods and other calamities weren’t financially hurt by those disasters. That surprising result comes with significant caveats, however.

Questionnaires sent to banks in recent months seek information about loans to same-sex couples, women on maternity leave and people with limited English proficiency. Industry executives and attorneys say the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau may be offering hints about specific types of fair-lending cases it could pursue.