Banking and Lending
Fairfield County Home Flippers See Over $120K in Gross Profits
By Sam Minton | October 4, 2024 | Reprints | Unlock LinkLocal home flippers are out-earning their peers in other parts of the country, but their raw profits represent a much smaller share of their projects’ final sale prices.
C&I Market Demand Remains Low. Interest Rate Cuts Could Change That
By Sam Minton | October 4, 2024 | Reprints | Unlock LinkThe commercial and industrial market has seen a relative lack of demand but with interest rate cuts, CT bankers say more activity could be on the horizon.
Fed Chair Powell Only Pledges Small Future Rate Cuts
By Christopher Rugaber | The Associated Press | October 2, 2024 | Reprints | Unlock LinkFederal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell signaled Monday that more interest rate cuts are in the pipeline but suggested they would occur at a measured pace intended to support a still-healthy economy.
Second Fintech Seeks Organization Under New CT Charter
October 1, 2024 | Reprints | Unlock LinkAfter two Fairfield County fintechs became the first to be chartered under Connecticut’s new “innovation bank” charter earlier this year, a third company is planning to take the same leap.
Expect Shortages and Higher Retail Prices If Dockworker Strike Drags On
By Mae Anderson and Anne D'Innocenzio | The Associated Press | October 1, 2024 | Reprints | Unlock LinkU.S. ports from Maine to Texas shut down Tuesday when the union representing about 45,000 dockworkers went on strike for the first time since 1977.
Average Mortgage Rate Hits Lowest Level in Two Years, But Reductions Slow
By Alex Veiga | The Associated Press | September 26, 2024 | Reprints | Unlock LinkThe rate dipped to 6.08 percent from to 6.09 percent last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. A year ago, the rate averaged 7.31 percent.
How the Federal Reserve’s Half-Point Rate Cut Will Impact CT Real Estate
By James Sanna | September 19, 2024 | Reprints | Unlock LinkThe Federal Reserve Wednesday made its first interest rate cut in over two years a large one – 50 basis points – and senior central bankers signal more cuts are coming.
Out-of-State Lenders Gain Ground in CT CRE Lending
By Sam Minton | September 18, 2024 | Reprints | Unlock LinkCommercial real estate lending has proven to be a source of rapid growth for two large out-of-state banks determined to make inroads in Connecticut.
Fed Set to Announce Rate Cut Today
By Christopher Rugaber | The Associated Press | September 18, 2024 | Reprints | Unlock LinkHaving all but tamed inflation, the Federal Reserve is poised to do something Wednesday it hasn’t done in more than four years.
As Rates Decrease, Mortgage Refinancing Surges
By Sam Minton | September 17, 2024 | Reprints | Unlock LinkWith interest rates and mortgage rates on the decline, mortgage refinancing activity has spiked.
Will the Fed Cut Rates Enough to Secure a Soft Landing?
By Christopher Rugaber | The Associated Press | September 16, 2024 | Reprints | Unlock LinkPlenty of uncertainty still surrounds this week’s Fed meeting. How much will the policymakers decide to reduce their benchmark rate, now at 5.3 percent? Will it be enough to avert a recession?
CT Lender Settles with Bank Regulators
By Sam Minton | September 13, 2024 | Reprints | Unlock LinkFieldpoint Private Bank & Trust has entered a settlement agreement with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and the Connecticut Department of Banking.
Trade Groups Welcome Fed’s Lower Big-Bank Capital Rules
By James Sanna | September 11, 2024 | Reprints | Unlock LinkThe trade group for the nation’s largest banks and the nation’s main real estate agent trade group say the Federal Reserve’s revised “Basel III” proposal for large-bank capitalization rates is a step in the right direction.
Liberty Bank Picks Salesforce as New AI Customer Tech Provider
By James Sanna | September 6, 2024 | Reprints | Unlock LinkMiddletown-based Liberty Bank announced Thursday that it’s adding a range of new, artificial intelligence-infused customer engagement tools from tech provider Salesforce.
Sluggish US Jobs Report Raises Question of How Much Fed Will Cut
By Christopher Rugaber | The Associated Press | September 6, 2024 | Reprints | Unlock LinkHiring by America’s employers picked up a bit in August from July’s tepid pace, and the unemployment rate dipped for the first time since March in a sign that the job market may be cooling but remains sturdy.
Mortgage Rates Now Nearly 150 Bps Off 2023 High
By Matt Ott | The Associated Press | September 5, 2024 | Reprints | Unlock LinkThe average rate on a 30-year mortgage in the U.S. was flat this week ahead of an expected interest rate cut from the Federal Reserve later this month.
New Haven Bank Names New CEO
By James Sanna | September 3, 2024 | Reprints | Unlock LinkThe state’s only bank that’s also a certified community development financial institution has promoted its new president to CEO as it completes a leadership transition.
Fed Welcomes ‘Soft Landing,’ But Many Americans Don’t Feel Like Cheering
By Christopher Rugaber | The Associated Press | September 3, 2024 | Reprints | Unlock LinkThough consumer sentiment is slowly rising, a majority of Americans in some surveys still complain about elevated prices, given that the costs of such necessities as food, gas and housing remain far above where they were before the pandemic erupted in 2020.
Modular Apartment Developer Picks West Hartford Site for Next Project
By James Sanna | August 29, 2024 | Reprints | Unlock LinkVessel Technologies, the modular housing developer that’s rapidly growing its presence in Connecticut, is seeking to transform a West Hartford nursing home into its next apartment project.
Powell at Jackson Hole: ‘The Time Has Come’ for Rate Cuts
By Christopher Rugaber | The Associated Press | August 23, 2024 | Reprints | Unlock LinkWith inflation nearly defeated and the job market cooling, the Federal Reserve is prepared to start cutting its key interest rate from its current 23-year high, Chair Jerome Powell said Friday.