Enforcement

Evans Bancorp in Hamburg, N.Y., has agreed to pay $825,000 to settle a lawsuit that accused the company of mortgage redlining.

The Justice Department's announcement that it would target individual executives at banks and other companies that are being investigated for wrongdoing has sparked a debate about whether the move is actually substantive or instead just designed to boost the agency's public image.

Three former Nomura Holdings Inc. traders pleaded not guilty to charges that they defrauded investors by inflating the prices of mortgage-backed securities in the wake of the U.S. financial crisis.

Three former Nomura Holdings Inc. traders were charged with defrauding investors by inflating the prices of mortgage-backed securities, the latest cases to come out of a U.S. crackdown on deceptive sales practices in the market for complex bonds.

Two top Justice Department and CFPB officials said this week that they are seeing more instances of redlining and lenders steering minority borrowers into higher cost loans.

About a fifth of the $163 million in credit Citi has earned under terms of the 2014 settlement would be considered extra credit. Citi can earn extra credit by doing things such as completing loan modifications early or reducing loan-to-value ratios below certain levels.

The Federal Housing Administration is re-issuing a loan certification proposal that has sparked industry concerns that it will make it easier for the Justice Department to sue lenders when they file claims for agency-insured loans that go into default.

M&T Bank has agreed to pay $485,000 and change its lending policies to settle a lawsuit that accused the Buffalo, N.Y., company of racial discrimination in making mortgage loans.

Bank of America has settled a national class-action lawsuit brought by former employees who claimed they weren't paid for overtime work.

As marketing services agreements increasingly fall out of favor, a more level playing field may emerge where loan officers must aggressively compete on their skill and service to win referral business.