Compliance

Strong home sales are boosting originations of Federal Housing Administration loans and opening the door for first-time buyers — developments that could portend the mortgage insurance agency receiving a positive report from auditors this fall.

An FHA lender was cited for violating Department of Housing and Urban Development rules by allowing repayment provisions in second mortgages.

BB&T Corp. has agreed to pay $83 million to settle a Department of Justice investigation over loans that failed quality control tests but were still insured by the Federal Housing Administration.

IBM will purchase Promontory Financial Group — a consultancy so influential it has been dubbed the industry's "shadow regulator" — in a move that could extend artificial intelligence into every aspect of banking.

The Department of Justice wants banks to more fully cooperate with civil investigations. Companies now are expected to "materially assist" the agency in providing documents, access to witnesses and even inculpatory documentary evidence such as emails and text messages.

Eight years after high-risk, deceptive lending practices precipitated a near-meltdown of the global economy, we learned that at least 5,300 Wells Fargo employees created 2 million sham accounts that its customers apparently did not want, need or understand.

Deutsche Bank isn't the only lender wrestling with the U.S. to resolve an investigation into toxic mortgage bonds: Credit Suisse Group and Barclays are also each in settlement talks with the Justice Department.

Royal Bank of Scotland Group agreed to pay $1.1 billion to settle the first of three major U.S. mortgage-backed securities probes the bank must overcome before it can resume dividend payments.

The Federal Housing Administration issued a proposal Tuesday that would make it easier for lenders to secure government guarantees for condominium loans.

Banks are to blame for delaying resolutions of U.S. mortgage investigations by failing to cooperate, a top Justice Department official said.