Fannie Mae will pay the U.S. Treasury a $5.5 billion dividend next month after its profit doubled in its latest quarter. The government-controlled mortgage company has already paid the Treasury $154.4 billion in dividends since receiving $116.1 billion in bailouts from the government between 2008 and 2011.

Credit Agricole SA shares rose the most in three months, buoyed by higher profit at the LCL consumer-banking division in France. The unit generated net income of 136 million euros in the fourth quarter, up 15 percent from a year earlier, the Montrouge, France-based bank said.

One very important point I never hear discussed is what the lender does with the extra loan payments borrowers make. If you pay extra on your mortgage before it’s due, does the lender require that the next payment be paid on schedule or can you skip monthly payments corresponding to how much extra you’ve paid? It would seem that many payoff amounts calculated at some point in the future by the lender might go back to the original recorded security deed and original amortization schedule with the extra payments overlooked.

Credit Agricole SA shares rose the most in two months, buoyed by higher profit at the French LCL consumer-banking division. The unit had profit of 136 million euros , up 15 percent from a year earlier, when a 491 million-euro goodwill writedown is excluded.

Credit Agricole SA posted a slump in fourth-quarter profit after booking a goodwill writedown at its French consumer-banking unit. Net income fell to 291 million euros from 882 million euros a year earlier, the Montrouge, France-based lender said Wednesday.

Steven Mnuchin, who was confirmed Monday night as the nation’s new secretary of the Treasury, is looking for major reforms in housing and other areas under the Trump administration. The hedge fund manager is a former executive and partner at Goldman Sachs , where he spent 17 years before founding Dune Capital Management.

Among all the hand-wringing about Dutch, French and German elections this year, one good news story is going largely unnoticed: that of Spain. More specifically, the remarkable recovery of Spanish banks.

With the political atmosphere unsettled at best, much of the current talk centers on unraveling the Dodd-Frank Act. But what would such a move mean to you? With the political atmosphere unsettled at best, much of the current talk out of Washington, D.C. centers on unraveling the Dodd-Frank Act .

Societe Generale SA reported fourth-quarter profit that exceeded estimates, helped by a surprise jump in earnings from French consumer banking. The lender announced plans for an initial public offering of its car-leasing business.

Nykredit Realkredit A/S, the largest lender operating in the world’s biggest market for mortgage-backed covered bonds, reported a 56 percent jump in profit last quarter after management cut costs and revenue increased. The Copenhagen-based lender said net profit excluding minorities rose to 1.87 billion kroner in the fourth quarter from 1.2 billion kroner a year earlier, according to a statement on Tuesday.

Interest rates on short-term Treasury bills were mixed in Monday’s auction, with rates on three-month bills rising to their highest level since late December and rates on six-month bills declining slightly. The Treasury Department auctioned $34 billion in three-month bills at a discount rate of 0.530 percent, up from 0.515 percent last week.

If the two government-sponsored enterprises go the privatization route, their stocks will increase. But that option pales by comparison with two superior alternatives.

The mortgage and deed to my old home are still in my name. I was divorced five years ago.

If you work from your home and have a dedicated home office you use, then you may be entitled to the home office deduction, which could save you hundreds or even thousands of dollars on your tax return. Here’s what the IRS considers to be a “home office,” how much your deduction could be, and how to claim it on your tax return.