Revenue and expenses

The Michigan company recently paid $70 million to close the books on a matter dating to the last financial crisis.

The investments, part of a post-merger effort to wring out more profits, include new commercial and mortgage lending platforms.

Lenders pushed back against the notion that city dwellers' pandemic-driven flight to suburbia would hurt them. They say fewer landlords have sought deferrals as vacancy rates remain low and rent collections have stabilized.

Low rates and intense competition might lead some banks to ease underwriting standards in 2021, when the economy may not yet have recovered.

The company's outgoing CFO discussed ways the asset cap is stunting growth, but provided no updates at an industry conference on when the restriction might be lifted or the types of jobs it will cut.

The Minneapolis company said 75% transactions have been handled online since the pandemic hit.

Home purchases in markets outside of cities accounted for some of the San Francisco bank's loan growth. Executives believe this will be a long-term trend because a generous supply of inventory in less populated areas will appeal to buyers.

Independent mortgage banks started 2020 strong after three quarters of high profits, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

By helping borrowers now, banks hope customers can quickly catch up on payments once the coronavirus pandemic ends. If they can’t, interest income will remain low and charge-offs could pile up if the crisis drags on.

Independent mortgage bankers had their most profitable fourth quarter in seven years for originations, but the fallout from the coronavirus could upset the economics of the industry in the short term.

The critical defect rate for closed mortgage loans continued its decline in the second quarter, as lenders benefited from increased loan volume and profitability, an Aces Risk Management study found.

Lender profitability rose to a high not seen since 2012 in the Mortgage Bankers Association's latest quarterly report despite some variability in revenue generated per loan.

Many mortgage servicers are still relying on spreadsheets to manage their tasks, rather than looking to automation as a problem solver.

Independent mortgage bankers reported their highest average profit per loan originated in almost three years, benefiting from a large drop in production expenses, the Mortgage Bankers Association said.

Despite a significant rise in first-mortgage production due to lower interest rates, profits from home lending in Citigroup's retail banking division fell slightly in the second quarter.

Independent mortgage banks became profitable again at the start of the year after realizing losses of $200 for each loan they originated in the fourth quarter of 2018, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

The moves are part of a plan CEO Rajinder Singh discussed in a conversation with American Banker.

Bank 34 will no longer sell mortgages in the secondary market as it looks to reduce its reliance on volatile revenue streams.

Surging loan production expenses and low revenue killed profits in 2018 for loans originated by independent mortgage bankers and subsidiaries of chartered banks, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Independent mortgage bankers lost the largest amount for originating a loan in the fourth quarter since this data has been tracked, as costs rose and volume dropped, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.