Originations

The Senate Banking Committee voted unanimously on Tuesday to approve the nomination of Ben Carson as the next Housing and Urban Development secretary.

Sales of previously owned homes declined more than forecast in December, data from the National Association of Realtors showed, but sales for the full year were the strongest since 2006.

Wells Fargo & Co. charged some homebuyers fees to extend promised interest rates when the bank failed to process their mortgage applications on time, ProPublica reported, citing four former employees from the Los Angeles area.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is ramping up enforcement actions ahead of a possible political showdown between President Donald J. Trump and the agency's director, Richard Cordray.

The Virginia bank has agreed to buy Tidewater Mortgage's majority stake in Old Point Mortgage.

Rising mortgage rates are offsetting higher demand and stifling the market potential for existing-home sales, according to First American Financial Corp.

Expanded lending across a broad range of categories and extremely low unemployment in Hawaii pushed up the Honolulu bank's quarterly profit.

The financial services industry has high hopes that President Trump will usher in a new era of less regulation and economic growth, but here are challenges the new administration will face.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development announced Friday that the reduction in mortgage insurance premiums "has been suspended indefinitely."

Mortgage industry hiring and new job appointments for the week ending Jan. 20.

Fannie Mae has expanded the list of third-party vendors approved to validate borrower income, employment and assets as part of the Desktop Underwriter validation service.

Associated Banc-Corp in Green Bay, Wis., reported a sharp increase in profits on a mix of higher fee income and lower credit costs.

The Connecticut bank said a spike in business lending and residential mortgages gave its fourth-quarter earnings a boost.

As the country's homes for sale inventory declines, prices and the percentage of homes going under contract quickly are rising, according to Redfin.

Fourth-quarter profits at Wintrust Financial in Rosemont, Ill., climbed 65% to $54.6 million from a year earlier, helped largely by acquisitions and increases in mortgage banking and other fee income.

In his confirmation hearing, Treasury Secretary-designate Steven Mnuchin said he wanted to work with both parties to find a "bipartisan fix" for the housing finance system.

The increase for the month represented the fastest annual pace of appreciation recorded in 2016.

Commercial real estate loan growth and the Hudson City acquisition fueled fourth-quarter profit growth at M&T Bank in Buffalo, N.Y.

Mortgage interest rates dropped for the third consecutive week but remain higher than they were one year ago, according to Freddie Mac.

MGIC Investment Corp. reported net income of $107.5 million for the fourth quarter, an increase of nearly 5% over the $102.4 million earned in the same period of 2015.