HomeStreet Bank will attempt to sell its stand-alone mortgage business and portfolio of servicing rights, a move that comes amid growing pressure from an activist investor to exit home lending and concerns about declining demand and regulatory challenges.
The biggest merger in years is reviving the idea that the industry is headed for a barbell-like shakeout, with very large banks on one end, community banks on the other and very few in between.
The agency's update is good news for banks digesting data suggesting that nonbanks cut into their share of small-business loans during the partial government shutdown.
Its mobile banking app comes with bank accounts, merchant accounts, and instant credit on invoices. Behind it is a network of community banks that will gather the deposits the app brings in.
