The same day Provident Financial Services announced it had agreed to buy Lakeland for $1.3 billion, the seller disclosed an ongoing fair-lending investigation by the Justice Department. Provident said it has "not heard anything" that would give it pause.

The all-stock acquisition of Lakeland Bancorp, expected to close in the second quarter of 2023, would create a combined bank with more than $25 billion of assets.

The Cincinnati bank's new division will lend to nonbanks that make or bundle together residential mortgage loans, whose businesses have slowed as higher interest rates lower appetite for refinancing. The warehouse sector has seen "fierce competition" among banks lately, one analyst wrote.

SPS will have roughly 1.4 million mortgages in its portfolio after the transaction closes, something the two companies estimate will occur in the fourth quarter of this year.

The Minneapolis-based buyer had previously said the deal would close earlier in the second half. Some of the financial benefits, which had been expected to be realized next year, won't come to fruition until 2024, executives said Monday.

While the total number is less than some previous rounds, the reductions are a resumption of Goldman's annual culling cycle that it had largely paused during the pandemic, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

The North Carolina bank's insurance subsidiary agreed to pay $3.4 billion to buy BankDirect Capital Finance. The sale reflects opposing strategies by the two companies.

The state Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a lawsuit involving one of the nation's largest debt buyers. At issue is how much detail the industry must disclose about what consumers allegedly owe.

Auto loan growth eased substantially in the second quarter amid competitive pressures from credit unions and other lenders.

Their activity was below the record share hit at the start of 2022, and down from the high water mark of 93,700 properties bought in the third quarter last year.