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Deutsche Bank’s Bill for Russia Trades Reaches $629 Million

Deutsche Bank AG was fined $629 million by U.K. and U.S. authorities for compliance failures that saw the bank help wealthy Russians move about $10 billion out of the country using transactions that were likely thinly veiled attempts to cover up financial crime. The U.K. Financial Conduct Authority issued a 163 million-pound fine Tuesday, hours after New York’s Department of Financial Services fined the bank $425 million, for failures over the so-called “mirror-trades.”

Deutsche Bank Ends N.Y. Mirror-Trade Probe for $425 Million

Deutsche Bank AG has taken the first step to resolve allegations that it helped wealthy Russians launder billions of dollars, reaching a deal with New York’s Department of Financial Services that requires it to pay a $425 million penalty, the regulator said. The New York settlement, approved by the bank on Monday, resolves allegations that Deutsche Bank employees used a “mirror-trading scheme” to help wealthy Russians move $10 billion out of that country from 2011 through 2014.

Rates on US Treasury bills rise at weekly auction

Interest rates on short-term Treasury bills rose in Monday’s auction, with rates on six-month bills climbing to their highest level in four weeks. The Treasury Department auctioned $34 billion in three-month bills at a discount rate of 0.515 percent, up from 0.505 percent last week.

Pending Home Sales Rise More Than Expected

Contracts to buy previously owned U.S. homes rebounded in December following a drop a month earlier, the National Association of Realtors said on Monday. The NAR said it pending home sales index, based on contracts signed last month, rose 1.6 percent to 109.0. Analysts polled by Reuters had forecast a 1.0 percent increase in December.

California looks to build $7 billion legal pot economy

The future of California’s legal marijuana industry is being shaped in a warren of cubicles tucked inside a retired basketball arena, where a garden of paper cannabis leaves sprouts on file cabinets and a burlap sack advertising “USA Home Grown” dangles from a wall. Here, in the outskirts of Sacramento, a handful of government workers face a daunting task: By next year, craft regulations and rules that will govern the state’s emerging legal pot market, from where and how plants can be grown to setting guidelines to track the buds from fields to stores.

4 Smart Ways to Boost Your Credit Score In 2017

Did you make a New Year’s resolution to improve your credit score in 2017? If you didn’t, maybe you should. Improving your credit score can literally save you tens of thousands of dollars in interest on your next mortgage, and it can make it much easier to qualify for the best auto financing and credit card offers.

4 Smart Ways to Boost Your Credit Score In 2017

Did you make a New Year’s resolution to improve your credit score in 2017? If you didn’t, maybe you should. Improving your credit score can literally save you tens of thousands of dollars in interest on your next mortgage, and it can make it much easier to qualify for the best auto financing and credit card offers.

5 Lowest 15-Year Mortgage Rates

U.S. mortgage rates rose in the aftermath of the presidential election and potential homeowners face higher monthly payments. Homebuyers can still snag the absolute lowest rates for 15-year mortgages.

3 Dumb Mortgage Moves

Interest rates have been inching up, with the 30-year fixed mortgage rate recently approaching4%. According to the Federal Reserve and general expectations, they’ll continue rising in the coming years.

RBS to Take $3.8 Billion Charge Tied to U.S. Mortgage Probe

Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc said it will take a 3.1 billion-pound charge in its fourth-quarter results as it moves closer to resolving a U.S. probe into sales of mortgage securities before the financial crisis. The lender is continuing to cooperate with the U.S. Department of Justice on its investigation, though timing of a settlement remains uncertain, the Edinburgh-based bank said Thursday in a statement.

China Said to Require Banks to Curb New Loans in First Quarter

China’s central bank has ordered the nation’s lenders to strictly control new loans in the first quarter of the year, people familiar with the matter said, in another move to curb excess leverage in the financial system. The instructions from the People’s Bank of China included a request for banks to keep any increase in new mortgage lending in the first quarter below the increase seen in the fourth quarter of last year, the people said, asking not to be identified as the discussions are private.

Hong Kong Retains Title of World’s Costliest Home Market

Hong Kong retained its rank as the most expensive housing market among 406 major metropolitan regions in the annual Demographia International Housing Affordability Survey for the seventh year in a row. The median price of a home in Hong Kong last year was 18.1 times the median annual pretax household income, the survey showed.

How Steven Mnuchin Could Affect the Markets

This commentary originally appeared on Real Money Pro at 1:00 p.m. on Jan. 20. Click here to learn about this dynamic market information service for active traders. Donald Trump’s nominee for Treasury Secretary, Steven Mnuchin, had his Senate confirmation hearing yesterday.

Deutsche Bank Burden in Mortgage Settlement Eased by Fine Print

Deutsche Bank AG sought an unusual provision in its $7.2 billion mortgage-bond settlement with the U.S. government, and seems to have ended up winning it: the bank can pay down part of its penalty by lending money to fund managers. As part of the agreement, Germany’s largest bank has to provide $4.1 billion of relief for mortgage borrowers.

Deutsche Bank Burden in Mortgage Settlement Eased by Fine Print

Deutsche Bank AG sought an unusual provision in its $7.2 billion mortgage-bond settlement with the U.S. government, and seems to have ended up winning it: the bank can pay down part of its penalty by lending money to fund managers. As part of the agreement, Germany’s largest bank has to provide $4.1 billion of relief for mortgage borrowers.

Lloyds Said to Pick Frankfurt for EU Subsidiary Following Brexit

Lloyds Banking Group Plc, Britain’s largest mortgage lender, is set to pick Frankfurt as its base to maintain access to the European Union’s single market following Brexit, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. The U.K. bank will choose to convert its German branch into a subsidiary and plans to apply for an extension to its banking license, said the person, who asked not to be identified because the details aren’t public.

Will Home Depot Raise Its Dividend in 2017?

The rebound in housing after the financial crisis was good news for homeowners, and it also helped drive improving results for Home Depot . The home improvement retailer benefited from greater interest both from do-it-yourself homeowners and from professional contractors, and investors have enjoyed not only long-term average annual returns in excess of 20% for more than 30 years but also significant gains in dividend payments.

Crackdown on Aussie Banks Boosted Mortgage Standards, APRA Says

Australian banks have “appreciably improved” their mortgage-lending standards, the nation’s regulator said, as it left the amount of additional capital banks are required to hold as a buffer against the build-up of credit risk at zero. The pace of lending to property investors is currently at around half of the regulator’s recommended levels, and higher-risk mortgages — such as those with loan-to-value ratios of over 90 percent — had fallen, the Australian Prudential and Regulatory Authority said in its annual report on the operation of the counter-cyclical capital buffer.

Stock picks for Trump era

The S&P 500 returned +1.82% in the fourth quarter of 2016 and 9.54% for the year-to-date. The year-to-date return of 9.54% is impressive given that market pundits had predicted a fall in stocks on a Trump win.