Private-label

PHH Corp. reported higher third-quarter profits compared to last year, driven by gains from the sale of its fleet management business.

Private investors backing firms like RPM Mortgage are placing bets on lenders in the U.S. home loan business once dominated by Wall Street's largest banks.

First Commonwealth Financial had avoided making home loans for roughly a decade before determining that it needed to add the products to compete more effectively against smaller banks. It added the product at a time when a number of other banks are scaling back.

JPMorgan began marketing another $402 million of securities backed by residential mortgages this week, adding to its robust pipeline of fourth-quarter deals.

In a surprise victory for mortgage servicer PHH Corp., a California judge overturned a $16.2 million jury verdict awarded to a California homeowner in July for a botched loan modification.