Practice and client management

Fifth Third Bancorp in Cincinnati said Thursday that it will spend $27.5 billion over the next five years to provide loans and other financial services to underserved communities in its region.

Bank of Botetourt in Buchanan, Va., said Thursday it has opened a mortgage division to pursue unmet demand for home loans in southwestern Virginia.

The financial crisis turned a lot of Americans into renters, because they couldn’t keep paying their mortgage, or because high unemployment and stagnant wages in the ensuing years forced them to put off homeownership.

There were 3.1 million homes and condos sold during 2015, a nine-year high. From the Twin Cities of Minneapolis-St. Paul to Salem, the capitol of Oregon, here's a look at the 10 markets with the biggest year-over-year percent increases in home sales.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's indirect response to Quicken Loans' Super Bowl 50 commercial implicitly warns consumers to be wary of technology, which points to a bigger problem: does the CFPB even know what it wants from the mortgage industry?

Mortgage lenders are ramping up marketing and point-of-sale processes, in order to prepare for an environment in which home sales are expected to cool down, according to a new report by Stratmor Group.

Computershare has agreed to acquire Capital Markets Cooperative for $71.2 million.

Financial companies from Quicken Loans to SoFi will be advertising in Sunday's game — a rare sight in recent years — despite the estimate $5 million price tag.

The final deadline for all Top Producers Survey responses is here. All entries must be submitted online by 6 p.m. EST Monday, Feb. 1.

Purchases of previously owned homes rose more than projected in December, helped in part by warmer weather and wrapping up the best year since 2006.

Credit unions' share of the mortgage origination market has climbed steadily since the financial crisis. The sector expects to build on that momentum in 2016, even as significant headwinds loom.

Lenders must treat self-service technology as a tool that facilitates, rather than defines, the mortgage borrowing experience.

Bank of America's mortgage banking income was down 26% from a year ago due to a decrease in core loan production revenue and higher intercompany charges during the fourth quarter.

Confidence among U.S. homebuilders was unchanged at the start of year, indicating the residential real estate market was sustaining the steady progress made in 2015.

Loan officers from the Top Producers rankings share some of their best career anecdotes and advice behind their success in the mortgage industry.

BankUnited of Miami Lakes, Fla., has exited the retail mortgage origination channel.

Social media offers a unique opportunity to make personal connections online, but mortgage lenders should tread lightly when using this channel as a lead source for new borrower prospects.

Recent Consumer Financial Protection Bureau enforcement actions against lead generation companies emphasize the breadth of lenders' responsibility for the third parties they expose borrower clients to.

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

Owens Realty Mortgage has promoted its chief financial officer, Bryan Draper, to chief executive and president.