CRA

The Federal Housing Finance Agency has added three categories to the list of protected classes under equal opportunity employment and inclusion rules for regulated entities.

Tucked away in the Treasury Department’s regulatory reform report released last month was a nascent effort to reform the way regulators implement the Community Reinvestment Act.

Affordable housing shortages and declining loan volumes are making it difficult for banks to originate enough mortgages to meet their Community Reinvestment Act obligations, which could make filling shortfalls with loans from nonbanks more expensive.

The online lender, which focuses on high-earning millennials, is offering assurances that it will also serve Americans who make less money. But the company has not convinced critics, who say the plans are inadequate.

Freddie Mac has priced its first credit-risk transfer securities backed in part by tax-exempt loans used to finance affordable multifamily rental properties.

The company also said it believes there are no regulatory obstacles that will derail its planned acquisition of Astoria Financial.

The Federal Reserve is asking Sterling to address deficiencies tied to its collection, verification and reporting of CRA data from 2014 to 2016.

The Wisconsin regional's profits rose 35% in the first quarter on healthy loan growth, wider margins and an improved efficiency ratio, and it said its "satisfactory" CRA rating had been restored.

Upcoming changes to how banks report mortgage activity to the government will have an undeniable impact on Community Reinvestment Act exams, but regulators have been silent on how they will use the data.

Low scores make it harder for banks to get regulatory OKs to expand, but Wells is in retrenchment mode anyway.