After a booming 2020, more mortgage lenders than ever before expect diminishing margins in the coming months as climbing interest rates set up heightened competition.

Citigroup restated fourth-quarter results after writing down a portion of a loan to Revlon it now owns after losing a court battle.

The newly public digital mortgage giant is relying on a diverse set of loan channels to take on competitors in an increasingly crowded field, CEO Anthony Hsieh said in an earnings call this week.

While its net income declined annually for the second consecutive year, CEO Hugh Frater touted Fannie Mae’s resiliency in a record year for providing mortgage liquidity.

The company purchased $1.1 trillion of single-family mortgages and $83 billion of multifamily loans during 2020.

Federal relief efforts have minimized loan losses so far, but risks remain in credit card, auto and business lending. Many borrowers will need another lifeline to stay afloat until the economy rebounds, CEO Jamie Dimon says.

The origination boom generated another profit for the company in the third quarter, when also it obtained a novel source of liquidity to support its servicing operations.

Lenders pushed back against the notion that city dwellers' pandemic-driven flight to suburbia would hurt them. They say fewer landlords have sought deferrals as vacancy rates remain low and rent collections have stabilized.

The subprime lender cited low odds that Washington will deliver further economic relief, and the fact that $1.5 billion of loans whose deferral period expired are now more than 30 days behind.

With the COVID-19 pandemic creating unprecedented challenges for small businesses, American Express has increasingly targeted its investments in that niche.

Minus various expenses including corporate, legal and servicing rights valuation, Ocwen had adjusted pretax income of $13.5 million.

The private equity megalith's mortgage trust made a second-quarter net income of over $17.5 million and $85.2 million in core earnings.

Ocwen Financial's preliminary second-quarter results put it back in the black, and it is positioning its growing distressed-servicing expertise and pandemic-induced exposures as a net positive.

While rival banks reported increases in loans and deposits, thanks largely to their participation in the Paycheck Protection Program, State Street and Bank of New York Mellon saw their balance sheets shrink in the second quarter.

Some 60% of Ally’s auto originations in the second quarter were used-vehicle loans, the highest percentage in the company's history.

B. Riley FBR raised its ratings for both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to sell from neutral on the possibility the net worth sweep is declared illegal.

The Federal Reserve's extraordinary effort to keep credit flowing to companies during the COVID-19 pandemic is also shunting money to banks' bottom lines.

The expected rise in refinance volume overrides pessimism about purchase activity for their businesses.

The central bank's Financial Stability Report said companies may face difficulties repaying debt given lower earnings, “which could trigger a sizable increase in firm defaults."

Rick Thornberry is looking to the lessons from the Great Recession and applying them to current conditions.