Regional banks

Citizens Bank's $511 million acquisition of Franklin American Mortgage will beef up the bank's servicing portfolio and diversify its origination business at a time when higher interest rates have put a damper on refinance volume.

The Rhode Island regional agreed to buy Franklin American Mortgage. With the acquisition it would have one of the nation's 15 largest bank-owned mortgage platforms.

With the Senate finishing its work on a regulatory relief package, a showdown in the House still looms while critics of Dodd-Frank weigh whether this is their last shot at unwinding it.

Numerous regional banks stand to benefit from a provision that narrows the scope of institutions defined as "systemically important" under the Dodd-Frank Act.

The company, which has been actively curbing growth to avoid becoming a systemically important financial institution, reported lower loan balances and reduced fee income after exiting the residential wholesale mortgage business.

The Arkansas company has spent two years trying to reassure nervous investors and analysts that it can rapidly book real estate loans using conservative practices.

The company has agreed to buy the operations of Veterans Mortgage in Salt Lake City.

The Tennessee company also set high expectations for revenue opportunities while projecting it will deliver a 15% return on equity in 2019.

Sterling Bancorp in New York is determined to turn Astoria Financial's largely residential operation into a commercial powerhouse. While investors are skeptical, CEO Jack Kopnisky has proven in the past that such an ambitious plan is doable.

Top banking executives called the Republican tax plan an important first step toward tax reform and economic stimulus, but questions immediately arose about whether trade-offs and complexities in the bill would undercut it.