Talk show hosts have had a field day with the Wells Fargo phony-accounts scandal, underscoring just how much it has hurt the bank's reputation.

The bank's fake account scandal is further reason to make the results of Wells' 2012 Community Reinvestment Act exam public.

BB&T Corp. has agreed to pay $83 million to settle a Department of Justice investigation over loans that failed quality control tests but were still insured by the Federal Housing Administration.

The Department of Justice wants banks to more fully cooperate with civil investigations. Companies now are expected to "materially assist" the agency in providing documents, access to witnesses and even inculpatory documentary evidence such as emails and text messages.

Mortgage fraud rose nationwide as Florida continued its reign as the state with the highest overall risk for unscrupulous activity, according to CoreLogic.

Republican lawmakers are pushing back against claims by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's allies that it rooted out fraud at Wells Fargo, arguing the L.A. City Attorney and the Los Angeles Times brought the situation to light.

Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen pushed back against the notion that banks might be "too big to manage," saying that despite concerns raised by the recent scandal at Wells Fargo, there is no inherent reason why large banks cannot meet existing standards of conduct.

House flippers and property developers are increasingly crowdfunding — tapping the virtual wallets of anonymous internet backers.

A California man was sentenced to 52 months in federal prison over his role in an alleged mortgage loan modification scheme.

The president and founder of a now-defunct Massachusetts-based mortgage company was charged with defrauding Ginnie Mae to the tune of $3 million.

The scheme is used by borrowers who don't have enough income to qualify for a regular mortgage, so they apply for a higher rate non-owner-occupied loan.

As the mortgage industry swings more toward purchase loans and away from refinancings, its risk from material misrepresentations increases.

The stock price of CBL & Associates Properties Inc. sank 13% in early trading after a published report said the U.S. retail landlord is being investigated for accounting fraud.

Lenders that sell both forward and reverse mortgages must carefully consider how their products are offered to older borrowers to avoid confusion that could lead to accusations of financial abuse.

Misrepresentations on mortgage applications have inched up nationwide for the first time since July, thanks in part to trends in the energy and agricultural sectors which are creating pressure in the South, according to First American Financial Corp.

As the war for talent heats up and lenders face tougher decisions in recruiting and hiring loan officers, the need to deploy certain tactics might seem appealing, but will ultimately create more problems than they are worth.

Two St. Louis-area investors have been indicted on charges they defrauded the failed Excel Bank on real estate loans.

The co-owner of a mortgage company responsible for a large-scale fraud scheme was sentenced to 21 months in prison in a Newark, N.J., federal court.

The number of misrepresentations in mortgage applications continued to decline in February, benefiting from lenders' increased spending on compliance, said First American Financial Corp.

The scammers pocketed $3.8 million from troubled homeowners nationwide and did nothing to modify their loans.