Financial institutions

D.R. Horton is expanding its entry-level Express Homes brand amid first-time buyers' growing demand for both homes and mortgages.

American International Group announced $3.6 billion in new costs to fill a reserve shortfall and said it will hold an initial public offering for its mortgage insurer and sell an adviser network as CEO Peter Hancock seeks to boost returns and protect his job after criticism from activist investor Carl Icahn.

Brokers and small lenders are being crushed under the weight of heavy regulation, leaving loan officers little choice but to shoulder the burden themselves — or move to an organization that can handle the regulatory requirements.

Independent mortgage lenders are expecting a wave of consolidation prompted by excessive compliance costs, a tepid housing recovery and the need for more capital to grow their businesses. Roughly 20% to 25% of independent companies could be eliminated or change hands in less than two years.

Employment at nonbank mortgage lenders and brokers was down in November, according to the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics data.

The Federal Reserve's interest rate increase has commercial real estate debt and equity financing players even more upbeat about their prospects in 2016.

Forget bigger is better. Several private-equity-backed lenders are making loans to small landlords, who represent the biggest chunk of the home-rental market and get less help from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac than they once did.

Rather than relying on a formal marketing services agreement to get business, loan officers now have to prove that they can provide realty agents and consumers the best mortgage experience.

National Cooperative Bank has formed a partnership to invest $40 million in an effort to provide loans for resident-owned manufactured home communities.

Mortgage stocks for the most part saw price per share gains in the wake of the Federal Open Markets Committee decision to raise short-term rates.

Mortgage lenders and servicers weary from a raft of regulatory changes in recent years may see some respite in 2016, but still face some tough issues ahead. Here's the most pressing.

Ditech has renewed its sponsorship of Kevin Harvick's No. 4 car which races for the Stewart-Has Racing team on the NASCAR Sprint Cup circuit.

Seven years after the housing bubble collapsed, Wall Street's appetite for riskier mortgages is returning.

Two independent mortgage banks agreed to settlements in the past week with the Justice Department for failing to meet Federal Housing Administration guidelines. The cases are a warning to nonbank lenders that they need to beef up self-reporting of deficiencies, and they remind large banks about the legal risks associated with FHA lending.

There are no easy fixes to Nationstar's myriad problems — including a plunging stock price and increased regulatory scrutiny — but Chief Executive Jay Bray says the turnaround starts with a commitment to improving customer service.

Poppi Metaxas, the former chief executive of Gateway Bank in Oakland, Calif., was sentenced to 18 months in prison for perpetrating a scheme involving mortgages.

Hiring by nonbank mortgage lenders stalled in October after adding new employees to their payrolls for eight straight months.

Quicken Loans will be the primary sponsor for Kasey Kahne of Hendrick Motorsports for three races during the 2016 NASCAR season.

Kal Raman has resigned as president and chief executive of Xome, the digital platform of the nonbank mortgage servicer Nationstar Mortgage Holdings.

Jeff Patmont got his home loan on his phone. The 30-year-old marketing manager for a medical-device company said he did almost everything electronically for the mortgage on his home in the San Francisco Bay Area.