Iberiabank settles FHA case for $11.7M
Iberiabank, based in Lafayette, La., has agreed to pay the United States $11.7 million to resolve allegations that it violated the federal False Claim Act, the U.S. Department of Justice said Friday.
The case arose from a whistleblower lawsuit filed by Kelley Shackleford and Karen Mills, former employees of Iberiabank in Little Rock. The whistleblowers will receive a 20 percent share of the recovery.
The bank and its mortgage division were accused of falsely certifying that they were complying with federal requirements in order to obtain insurance on mortgage loans from the Federal Housing Administration.
Between 2005 and 2014, Iberiabank certified loans as FHA qualified that did not meet federal Housing and Urban Development requirements and were therefore ineligible for FHA mortgage insurance. HUD paid insurance claims on some of the ineligible mortgages.
-- David Smith
No reprieve for Wells Fargo, Trump says
WASHINGTON -- President Donald Trump weighed in on an investigation into scandal-plagued Wells Fargo, tweeting Friday that fines and penalties against the bank would not be dropped and may be "substantially increased."
Trump's statement comes a day after Reuters reported that Mick Mulvaney, the president's budget director and now acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, was weighing whether the bank should have to pay tens of millions in fines already levied against it for mortgage lending abuses.
Wells Fargo, the nation's largest mortgage lender, has offered refunds to customers this year after acknowledging that its mortgage bankers unfairly charged them fees to lock in interest rates on mortgages. It's just one of a number of legal problems the San Francisco-based bank is facing. In the most publicized scheme, bank employees opened more than 3 million fake accounts in order to meet sales quotas.
-- The Associated Press
GateHouse Media to buy Boston Herald
BOSTON -- The Boston Herald is declaring bankruptcy and has agreed to be sold to GateHouse Media.
The daily newspaper founded in 1846 announced Friday that it has filed a voluntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition in Delaware. Publisher Patrick Purcell didn't disclose the sale price but said the purchase is subject to court approval.
Purcell cited pension liabilities, declining revenue, digital media and growing competition for the decision. He said the company would continue its day-to-day operations.
The 64,500-circulation tabloid had some 900 employees at its peak in 2000. Today it has 240 with more than half working in the newsroom. It has won eight Pulitzer Prizes in its history.
New York-based GateHouse Media publishes more than 600 newspapers in 38 states.
-- The Associated Press
Consumer sentiment gauge slips lower
Consumer sentiment in the U.S. cooled in early December while remaining near levels consistent with a steady economy and solid job market, according to a University of Michigan report Friday.
The sentiment index fell to 96.8 from 98.5 in November. The current conditions gauge, which measures Americans' perceptions of their finances, rose to 115.9 from 113.5, the expectations measure decreased from 88.9 to 84.6 and year-ahead inflation expectations rose to 2.8 percent, highest since April 2016, from 2.5 percent in November.
Even with the decline in the main index and a higher inflation outlook, Americans remain relatively optimistic about employment prospects and the economic outlook, with the report showing improved household finances.
-- Bloomberg News
Japan, EU trumpet free trade agreement
The European Union and Japan said Friday that they had finalized a sweeping deal that would create a free trade area covering more than a quarter of the world's economy, pushing against rising calls for protectionism in much of the West.
The economic partnership agreement, which would be one of the largest free trade deals ever, "demonstrates the powerful political will of Japan and the EU to continue to keep the flag of free trade waving high," Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Jean-Claude Juncker, president of the EU's executive arm, said in a joint statement.
The deal is subject to ratification by lawmakers in Europe as well as Japan, but Abe and Juncker said that they were confident that once in place, it would "deliver sustainable and inclusive economic growth, and spur job creation."
Japan trades less with the European Union than it does with the United States or China. But completing a deal with the EU became a more urgent priority for Tokyo after President Donald Trump's decision in January to withdraw the United States from another agreement, the Trans-Pacific Partnership.
-- The Associated Press
Plastic crowds out real Christmas trees
Millennials have earned a reputation for loving consumer products that are local and artisanal. So why are they buying so many plastic Christmas trees?
That's the question irking Tim O'Connor, the executive director of the Christmas Tree Promotion Board in Littleton, Colo. To help capture more buyers, growers are positioning themselves as analogs to the local and organic food movement. Real trees have all the things younger adults are drawn to, he said, touting authenticity, benefits to the environment and support for regional economies.
While almost 95 million U.S. households will display a Christmas tree this season, only 19 percent of those are expected to be real, according to a survey conducted by Nielsen for the American Christmas Tree Association released Thursday.
Still, artificial trees appeal to consumers because they're convenient and reusable, said Jami Warner, the Sacramento-based executive director of the American Christmas Tree Association, which promotes both the farm-grown and manufactured varieties.
-- The New York Times
Business on 12/09/2017