Consumer lending

JPMorgan Chase's net mortgage banking revenue for the fourth quarter was $1.69 billion, an increase of just 1% over the same period in 2015.

Bank of America Corp.'s fourth-quarter mortgage revenue almost doubled to $519 million from a year earlier.

Wells Fargo, which lost its status as the world's most valuable lender after a scandal in its retail bank, said profit dropped 5.4% as revenue from its mortgage business declined.

Deutsche Bank is considering an unusual approach to providing relief to subprime mortgage borrowers as part of a $7.2 billion settlement with the U.S. government: lending money to private equity firms and hedge funds.

National banks have experienced a dramatic drop in loan modification activity over the past year, according to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.

Kenneth Mahon, the new CEO of Dime Community Bank, wants to reduce the 152-year-old institution's multifamily exposure by diversifying into other asset classes. But finding new business amid already fierce competition could be an immense challenge for Dime — and other community banks — in 2017.

Deutsche Bank and Credit Suisse Group agreed to pay a combined $12.5 billion to resolve U.S. investigations into sales of the toxic debt that fueled the financial crisis, putting behind them a major dispute that undermined confidence in the banks and raised questions about their turnarounds.

First Commonwealth Financial in Indiana, Pa., has hired a former Regions Financial executive to lead several of its consumer lending groups.

Flagstar Bancorp in Troy, Mich., said that the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has terminated its 2012 consent order with its Flagstar Bank on Monday.

So now what? New York Community Bancorp and Astoria Financial have been mum about why they nixed their merger agreement, or where they go next, but the companies have a surprising number of options in the current climate.

New York Community Bancorp in Westbury and Astoria Financial in Lake Success, N.Y., have terminated their merger.

Citigroup's global head of retail banking and mortgages, Jonathan Larsen, who has been known as an advocate of digital banking, resigned for personal reasons, the lender said.

While depository mortgage lenders should exercise some caution before welcoming trended data and alternative credit scoring into their process, they must become inclusive or face losing market share to newer industry players like SoFi.

Fewer delinquencies are expected to accompany higher debt levels in 2017, TransUnion predicted.

The surge in mortgage rates since the November election is expected to offset the increase to lenders' short-term funding costs following the Federal Open Markets Committee's 25-basis-point increase to the federal funds rate.

Southern National Bancorp of Virginia in McLean has agreed to buy Eastern Virginia Bankshares in Glen Allen.

Of the five banks that failed their living will tests earlier this year and were forced to resubmit plans, only Wells Fargo failed again, resulting in immediate regulatory action that will restrict its growth, including its ability to expand internationally and buy nonbank subsidiaries.

Fairway Independent Mortgage Corp. is rolling out a new mobile application that allows consumers to apply for a loan, scan documents and get updates on their loan status through real-time push notifications.

Ally Financial is now making home loans.

A flood of fintech companies are promising to create a better experience for mortgage borrowers, forcing lenders to contemplate buying a vendor's software, building applications in-house — or even outright acquiring a company with digital expertise.