Wells Fargo's Mortgage Revenue to Drop 18 Percent, Staite Says Businessweek Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC), the largest U.S. home lender, may see an 18 percent drop in mortgage revenue this year as profit from selling loans shrinks, according to Richard Staite, an analyst at Atlantic Equities LLP. Revenue from mortgage production, without ... and more »

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - Two senators - a Democrat and a Republican - on Tuesday questioned the Department of Justice about whether the powerful status of large Wall Street financial institutions makes it difficult to prosecute wrongdoing and impose appropriate penalties. "Wall Street megabanks aren't just too big to fail, they're increasingly too big to jail," said Sen. Sherrod Brown, democrat of Ohio, in a statement. Brown and Sen. Chuck Grassley, republican of Iowa, sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder arguing that many settlements between large banks and the federal government involve penalties that are "disproportionately low." They also said that the nature of the settlements has raised concerns that big banks "enjoy a favored status in statute and in enforcement policy." Grassley said there has been little willingness to charge individuals involved in the financial crisis criminally. He added that the public deserves an explanation for how the Justice Department arrives at these decisions.

Fix Home Lending Before the Next Bubble Bloomberg It's odd that President Barack Obama didn't mention housing in his second inaugural address. After all, he spent his first term in the shadow of a housing meltdown, and remaking federal housing policy remains a central piece of unfinished business.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The share of privately owned homes edged down in the fourth quarter and rental vacancies rose, government data showed on Tuesday, underscoring the challenges still confronting the housing market recovery.

Democrats Try Again to Spur Refinancing to Bolster U.S. Housing Bloomberg Underwater homeowners may get additional federal assistance for refinancing government-backed loans under a proposal being revived in the U.S. Senate. Democratic Senators Robert Menendez of New Jersey and Barbara Boxer of California plan to ... and more »

The policy of quantitative easing pursued by the Bank of England since 2008 has hurt the nation's savers and any further stimulus would have marginal benefits, according to evidence heard by U.K. policymakers.

D.R. Horton Profit More Than Doubles as Market Rebounds Bloomberg D.R. Horton Inc. (DHI), the largest U.S. homebuilder by volume, said fiscal first-quarter profit more than doubled as demand for new houses climbed in a recovering real estate market. Net income was $66.3 million, or 20 cents a share, for the three months ...

The spread between low interest rates and the money real estate generates is "truly astonishing," Starwood Capital CEO Barry Sternlicht told CNBC.

U.S. stock index futures pointed to a lower open on Tuesday, with investors cautious ahead of the Federal Reserve's announcement on monetary policy on Wednesday.

Press Release FDIC Announces New Members for the Advisory Committee on Community Banking FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE January 29, 2013 Media Contact: David Barr (202) 898-6992 Email: dbarr@fdic.gov   The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) has announced the selection of eight new members for its Advisory Committee on Community Banking, which has been providing advice and recommendations to the FDIC on a broad range of community bank policy and regulatory matters since it was established in 2009. The Advisory Committee members represent a cross-section of community bankers from around the country. "We are fortunate to have such talented and dedicated community bank leaders join our Advisory Committee, which has been a valuable resource for the FDIC over the last few years,” said FDIC Chairman Martin Gruenberg. “The Advisory Committee has proven to be a key source of information and input for the FDIC on the many significant issues facing community banks," Gruenberg said. The Advisory Committee on Community Banking discusses and provides input to the FDIC on a wide variety of topics, including current examination policies and procedures, credit and lending practices, deposit insurance assessments, insurance coverage and regulatory compliance. The new members of the Advisory Committee are: Cynthia L. Blankenship, Vice President and COO, Bank of the West, Grapevine, Texas Leonel Castillo, President and CEO, American Bank of Commerce, Provo, Utah Jane Haskin, President and CEO, First Bethany Bancorp. Inc., Bethany, Oklahoma Mark Hesser, President, Pinnacle Bank, Lincoln, Nebraska James Lundy, Chief Executive Officer, Western Alliance Bank, Phoenix, Arizona Kim D. Saunders, President, CEO and Director, Mechanics & Farmers Bank, Durham, North Carolina David Seleski, President, CEO and Director, Stonegate Bank, Fort Lauderdale, Florida Derek Williams, President and CEO, First Peoples Bank, Pine Mountain, Georgia The new members...