Lloyds Takes Further $426 Million Provision for U.K. PPI Claims

Lloyds Banking Group Plc will take a 350 million-pound provision for improperly sold loan insurance in the first quarter after the U.K. regulator extended a deadline for complaints. The charge is in response to the Financial Conduct Authority’s policy statement on payment protection insurance issued on March 2, and won’t impact the bank’s earnings guidance, the London-based company said in a statement on Friday.

LendingTree: Cramer’s Top Takeaways

For his “Executive Decision” segment, Cramer sat down with Doug Lebda, founder, chairman and CEO of LendingTree , a stock that’s up 17% for the year after the company reported blowout earnings two weeks ago. Lebda first responded to questions about his company’s very successful stock buyback program by saying that it was a smart decision at a smart time and he remains committed to his shareholders.

TCPA Petition Could Cause Multiple Industries to Break Laws, Trade Groups Find

ETA: Meghan M. Cieslak mcieslak@electran.org Washington, D.C. – The American Financial Services Association, the Consumer Bankers Association, the Credit Union National Association, the Financial Services Roundtable, National Association of Federally-Insured Credit Unions, and the Electronic Transactions Association today sent a joint letter to the Federal Communications Commission regarding the Petition for Rulemaking and Declaratory Ruling regarding prior express consent under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act . In the letter, the trade groups request a denial of the petition and lay out seven reasons why it would prove harmful in today’s economy.

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American Bankers Association CEO Robert Nichols weighs in on his meeting with President Trump over financial reform efforts that affect community banks. President Trump met with community bankers from across the country to find out the potential regulatory reforms and other steps the federal government could take to help boost lending to U.S. small businesses as well as consumers.

China Said to Plan Stricter Bank Capital Rules to Curb Risks

China’s central bank plans to apply a stricter method for assessing banks’ capital as part of efforts to contain financial-sector risks, people with knowledge of the matter said. Under the proposed change to the so-called Macro Prudential Assessment framework, the People’s Bank of China will remove an intermediary category in its evaluation of banks’ capital adequacy, the people said, asking not to be identified because the matter is private.

China Said to Plan Stricter Bank Capital Rules to Contain Risks

China’s central bank plans to apply a stricter method for assessing banks’ capital as part of efforts to contain financial-sector risks, people with knowledge of the matter said. Under the proposed change to the so-called Macro Prudential Assessment framework, the People’s Bank of China will remove an intermediary category in its evaluation of banks’ capital adequacy, the people said, asking not to be identified because the matter is private.

Mortgage Rates Wednesday, March 8: 14-Week High;…

Thirty-year and 15-year fixed rates, as well as 5/1 ARM rates, all moved higher today, according to a NerdWallet survey of current mortgage rates published by national lenders Wednesday morning. The Federal Reserve will announce its decision on raising short-term interest rates in one week.

Chancellor’s challenge

A funny thing about confidence is that some people have it but shouldn’t, while others should but don’t. It’s true more than ever when it comes to the confidence to spend money.

Deutsche Bank Board to Meet on $8.5 Billion Capital Raise

Deutsche Bank AG’s supervisory board will meet Sunday to discuss a plan to raise more than 8 billion euros as Chief Executive Officer John Cryan tackles concerns about capital levels, a person familiar with the matter said. story that said the lender is planning an equity offering and the sale of part of its asset management unit after failing to find a buyer for its Postbank consumer business, which had been a key pillar of Cryan’s strategy.

Australia Mortgage Lending Standards in Regulator Crosshairs

Australia’s securities regulator said Thursday it is looking at mortgage lending standards across the banking sector after taking civil court proceedings against Westpac Banking Corp. The Westpac case “sends a message to the broader sector” that the Australian Securities & Investments Commission is prepared to “take anyone on,” Chairman Greg Medcraft told a parliamentary committee. ASIC yesterday announced proceedings against Westpac, the country’s second-biggest bank, over alleged failures to properly assess whether borrowers could afford their mortgages.

Could the $1.3T of College Debt Spark the Next Financial Crisis?

As President Trump addresses Congress over tax reform and defense spending in a joint session Tuesday night, one agenda that might not be covered could very well spark the next financial crisis: student loan debt default. According to the New York Federal Reserve, U.S. student loan debt has soared to $1.3 trillion becoming the second highest consumer debt category, more than both credit cards and auto loans.

Canada Banks Push Back Against Taking on More Mortgage Risk

Canada’s financial industry is urging the federal government to consider alternatives to proposals that could require them to take on a greater share of mortgage defaults through a deductible — calling it one of the biggest shakeups to hit housing finance in 50 years. “This submission has questioned whether a deductible is the most effective way to rebalance risks within the housing finance system,” the Canadian Bankers Association said in a report on Tuesday.

Mortgage Rates Monday, Feb. 27: Holding Near 2017 Lows

Thirty-year and 15-year fixed rates, as well as 5/1 ARM rates, are all mostly unchanged today, according to a NerdWallet survey of current mortgage rates published by national lenders Monday morning. After retreating for five of the past six days, fixed-rate mortgages are holding close to 2017 lows.

Austerity anguish

In normal times, in a normal country, court proceedings over mortgage arrears would not be the stuff of headline news. In a soulless white concrete court building, leaders of the I Won’t Pay movement have been turning routine eviction proceedings into the frontline in a popular fight-back against austerity.

Brief-Waterstone Financial Quarterly Earnings Per Share $0.23

WASHINGTON, Feb 24 The new U.S. Federal Communications Commission chief will move to block broadband privacy rules, approved by the Obama administration, that subject broadband providers to stricter scrutiny than websites, a spokesman said on Friday, in a victory for internet providers like AT&T Inc, Comcast Corp and Verizon Communications Corp.

Deutsche Bank Loses Ground in Trading as JPMorgan Thrives

Deutsche Bank’s negotiations with U.S. prosecutors last year over alleged mortgage misdeeds rattled investors, leading many of the German lender’s trading partners to defect — apparently to American rivals. Deutsche Bank , the German lender hit last year by a $7.2 billion settlement with U.S. authorities over alleged mortgage misdeeds, is losing ground to American rivals in the highly profitable arena of bond and currency trading, a new report shows.

Rate Hikes Boost Bank Deposits

Repurchase agreements, or repos, are a tool of monetary operations used by the Fed in carrying out monetary policy. In a repo, the Fed will buy securities from authorized counterparties at an agreed-upon price for an agreed-upon term.

Prudential May Press Wells Fargo as Fake-Account Fallout Spreads

Prudential Financial Inc., facing regulatory scrutiny and lawsuits over a sales relationship with Wells Fargo & Co., said it may press its partner to cover costs after halting the offering — another sign the bank has yet to contain the full fallout of its bogus-account scandal. Prudential “has provided notice to Wells Fargo that it may seek indemnification,” the Newark, New Jersey-based insurer said in a Feb. 17 regulatory filing, referring to their agreement to sell MyTerm life coverage to Wells Fargo customers.

Rate Hikes Boost Bank Deposits

Repurchase agreements, or repos, are a tool of monetary operations used by the Fed in carrying out monetary policy. In a repo, the Fed will buy securities from authorized counterparties at an agreed-upon price for an agreed-upon term.

Ahead of the Bell: US home sales

The National Association of Realtors reports on January sales of existing U.S. homes Wednesday at 10 a.m. Eastern. Economists forecast sales will tick up to a seasonally adjusted 5.55 million, up from 5.49 million in December.

Cohen-backed Metro Bank Defies Brexit Uncertainty With Pledge To Double In Size

Metro Bank has defied uncertainty brought about by Britain’s vote to leave the EU and stuck to its guns on growth targets, reiterating Wednesday a pledge to double in size by 2020. The upstart lender, who counts Steve Cohen’s Point72 Asset Management as its largest shareholder, reported its second quarterly profit against a backdrop of overarching economic uncertainty and said that it has seen no significant change in customer behaviour since the U.K voted to leave the European Union in June last year.

Lloyds Swings to Fourth-Quarter Profit as It Boosts Dividend

Lloyds Banking Group Plc, Britain’s largest mortgage lender, swung to a fourth-quarter profit even as it faced more than 700 million pounds of conduct and restructuring charges. Pretax profit was 973 million pounds, compared to a loss of 507 million pounds a year earlier, the London-based bank said in a statement Wednesday, falling short of analysts’ estimates for 1.38 billion pounds.

Hedge Funds Lose Bid to Quash Fannie, Freddie Profit Grab

Hedge funds largely failed in their legal challenge to the U.S. government’s capture of billions of dollars in profits generated by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac after their bailout, sending shares of the mortgage guarantors plunging. Perry Capital LLC, the Fairholme Funds and other big investors lost a bid to overturn a judge’s ruling that said they can’t sue the government over the dividend change.

Hedge Funds Can’t Sue Over Investments in Fannie or Freddie

A federal appeals court upheld a ruling that barred hedge funds from suing to overturn the U.S. government’s 2012 decision to capture billions of dollars in the profits generated by the mortgage guarantors Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac after their bailout, sending shares plunging. Some Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac investors still have a shot at money damages, based on when they acquired their shares and whether they did so before or after the Federal Housing Finance Agency was created and then imposed its control over Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Pop-Ups Come to Banking as Swedbank Steals a Page From Eateries

Sweden’s biggest mortgage lender plans to open pop-up banks across the country, reversing half a decade of shuttering branches. Swedbank AB, which has cut its network by almost two-thirds since 2011, envisions portable banks setting up virtually anywhere, from university campuses to real estate brokers’ offices to corporate clients’ headquarters.

There are 5 places in the US where you need to make over…

In the last quarter of 2016, the median cost of a single-family home in the region rose to $348,800, up nearly 8% from the previous year and a greater increase than any other region, according to the National Association of Realtors . “Depressed new and existing inventory conditions led to several of the largest metro areas seeing near or above double-digit appreciation, which has pushed home values to record highs in a slight majority of markets,” said Lawrence Yun , NAR chief economist.

Another View — Mark Connolly: The upside of regulations

Punishment came down quickly for two Daniel Webster College basketball players, including the leading scorer this season, after a fight during the school’s last-ever men’s basketball game on… Brad Marchand scored a breakaway goal 2:36 into overtime as the Boston Bruins beat the Sharks 2-1 Sunday night.

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In a perfect world, everyone would have no problem living within their income; we’d all have little to no debt and plenty of money set aside in savings. In the real world, that’s a depressingly rare circumstance.