Financial institutions

Commercial real estate is their bread and butter, but many banks are scaling back in this vital loan category. Here’s why.

Greg Englesbe resigned as CEO of New Jersey lender E Mortgage Management after a jury awarded $3 million to a woman who accused Englesbe of injuring her when he grabbed and forcibly kissed her at a Philadelphia restaurant.

Declining mortgage origination volume and record-high costs drove production income for independent mortgage bankers into negative territory, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

The Atlanta bank had previously failed compliance metrics in five straight quarters before passing them last year, according to the settlement's monitor.

Seasonal hiring gave employment among nonbank mortgage lenders and brokers a boost in April and partially reversed an earlier decline despite growing signs of consolidation in the industry.

Citizens Bank's $511 million acquisition of Franklin American Mortgage will beef up the bank's servicing portfolio and diversify its origination business at a time when higher interest rates have put a damper on refinance volume.

The Rhode Island regional agreed to buy Franklin American Mortgage. With the acquisition it would have one of the nation's 15 largest bank-owned mortgage platforms.

The industry’s biggest legislative victory in a decade made it to the finish line Thursday.

The bill passed by the House took a more cautious approach to relief than prior legislative proposals but has still been hailed by banking industry groups.

Originations and margins are thinning, and there will be mortgage banking firms that don't make it through this year, but after that, the numbers may look better.

Call it mutual respect. Bankers from mutually owned British building societies and similarly structured U.S. thrifts recently gathered in New England to address common challenges and share ideas about staying relevant at a time of rapid change in financial services. Here are the takeaways from their meetings.

Nationstar Mortgage has agreed to refund or reverse more than $1 million in inspection fees, settling allegations by Maryland officials it illegally charged homeowners.

Nationstar Mortgage may face a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau enforcement action over alleged violations of the Real Estate Settlement Act and other regulations, the Mr. Cooper parent company said.

Freddie Mac has quietly started extending credit to nonbanks that issue mortgages, a move it says will help the companies maintain access to a crucial stockpile of cash if their home loans go sour.

Employment among nonbank mortgage lenders and brokers fell in March, erasing the unexpected gains in the previous month.

The reserve bank's proposal to address banks and nonbanks that remain "too big to fail" does not include two of the largest such institutions: Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Employment in the nonbank mortgage lender and brokerage sector unexpectedly rose in February after several months of layoffs.

The Treasury's recommendations come as federal bank regulators have indicated they will soon release a proposal to reform Community Reinvestment Act policy.

The biggest legacy of the current regulatory relief effort may be the increasing focus on whether organizing banks in supervisory buckets by asset size makes sense. Yet the bill deals with just one of the two big asset thresholds in the law.

As tight housing inventory continues challenging prospective borrowers, Newfi Lending has launched a new portfolio lending platform in an effort to make homeownership more attainable.