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Doug Lebda, the founder, chairman and chief executive officer of financial services marketplace LendingTree, died over the weekend in an all-terrain vehicle accident, according to the company. He was 55.Lebda established LendingTree in 1996 after experiencing a lack of transparency and confusing process while obtaining a mortgage. His goal was to simplify financial decisions and foster economic opportunity.The fintech veteran also applied his entrepreneurial focus to financial literacy, co-founding Tykoon, a financial-services platform aimed at helping children and families manage money.Prior to founding the companies, Lebda was an auditor and consultant for PriceWaterhouseCoopers. He graduated from Bucknell University to complete his undergraduate degree and attended the University of Virginia Darden School of Business for his MBA, though he initially left business school to start LendingTree, returning nearly 20 years later to complete his degree.A new companyLendingTree launched nationally out of its headquarters in Charlotte, North Carolina, in 1998, followed by an initial public offering in 2000.The company's early days were characterized by customer acquisition and courting investment, and by 2001, it had three million applications, almost $150 million of funding, but was unprofitable. In its early days, LendingTree spent $50 million on a nationwide television campaign intended to build the brand, which featured borrowers taking control as lenders competed for their business.The campaign helped reduce the cost of customer acquisition from $100 to about $28, the company said at the time.By 2001, LendingTree originated $500 million of loans per month, and its network included six of the top 10 mortgage companies and seven of the top 10 banks at the time.When he set out to build the company, Lebda said he underestimated the amount of effort required to raise money. He joked to American Banker years later that "CEO" should stand for "capital extraction officer."Lebda recalled one major mortgage lender executive cutting him off during a meeting. The lender, according to Lebda, "literally started pounding on the table, saying: 'You will never work with us! You will never get between us and our customers!'"That lender later became a successful participant on the LendingTree exchange, Lebda said.In 2003, LendingTree was sold to InterActiveCorp. Lebda served as IAC's president and chief operating officer from 2005 to 2008. In 2008, he rejoined the newly formed Tree.com (later rebranded as LendingTree) when it spun out from IAC as a separate public company.Giving backIn 2012, Lebda co-founded and served as chairman of Tykoon, which provided a platform to enable kids to complete real tasks to earn real money, which they could then save, donate to charities, and spend on parent-approved items.Lebda said at the time that the platform was changing user behavior, stating that his own kids would ask to do more things around the house to earn money.Lebda also co-taught an entrepreneurship class at his alma mater, the University of Virginia Darden School of Business.Following his death, LendingTree's board of directors said Monday that it had appointed Scott Peyree to serve as president and chief executive officer, effective immediately. Peyree had been president and chief operating officer before the change.Steve Ozonian, lead independent director, was appointed chairman of the board.The board said Lebda "was a visionary leader whose relentless drive, innovation and passion transformed the financial services landscape, touching the lives of millions of consumers.Scott Peyree noted that the strong management team Lebda put in place is "one of the most immediate impacts of his legacy."

Bloomberg News Key Insight: Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell reflected on the Fed's aggressive asset purchases during the pandemic, noting that it may have been an overreaction. Expert quote: "With the clarity of hindsight, we could have — and perhaps should have — stopped asset purchases sooner," said Fed Chair Powell. What's at stake: The Federal Reserve purchased mortgage-backed securities in large quantities during the pandemic, which some say may have contributed to current imbalances in the housing market, where prices have risen and affordability has worsened.Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Tuesday reflected on the central bank's aggressive asset purchases during the COVID-19 pandemic, acknowledging it may have been an overreaction.Speaking at the National Association for Business Economics conference, Powell said the Fed likely "should've stopped asset purchases sooner," specifically pointing to mortgage-backed securities. Powell acknowledged previous skepticism from market watchers who questioned the inclusion of agency MBS purchases during the pandemic recovery, but he said the pace of the central bank's purchase of MBS and U.S. Treasury securities was set "in order to avoid a sharp unwelcome tightening of financial conditions." He added that it is "challenging to determine" to what extent the Fed's MBS purchases disproportionately affected housing market conditions during that period."Many factors affect the mortgage market, and many factors beyond the mortgage market affect supply and demand in the broader housing market," Powell said.At the onset of the pandemic, the Fed purchased mortgage-backed securities en masse as part of a quantitative easing effort aimed at keeping financial markets functional. Its MBS holdings more than doubled during the next two years, peaking at $2.7 trillion before the Fed began allowing the assets to roll off their books. The Fed's bulk purchases of MBS' during the pandemic arguably contributed to imbalances in the housing market, some say, as interest rates fell sharply and a home-buying frenzy unraveled, ultimately driving up home prices and worsening affordability."With the clarity of hindsight, we could have — and perhaps should have — stopped asset purchases sooner," said Powell. "Our real-time decisions were intended to serve as insurance against downside risks. We knew that we could unwind purchases relatively quickly once we ended them, which is exactly what we did."During his speech Tuesday, Powell also mentioned the Fed's ample reserves regime, and said it has proven "highly effective" in helping the central bank maintain rate control independently of its balance sheet. Since June 2022, the Fed has reduced its balance sheet by $2.2 trillion, from 35% to just under 22% of GDP, while maintaining effective interest rate control, Powell said. The Fed chair said the central bank's "long-stated plan" is to stop balance sheet runoff, which is something that can be reached in the coming months but that will hinge on several factors, including liquidity conditions, which have shown signs of gradually tightening.Powell added that normalizing the central bank's balance sheet does not signal a return to pre-pandemic times, commenting that the size of the Fed's balance sheet "is determined by the public's demand for our liabilities rather than our pandemic-related asset purchases."Non-reserve liabilities currently stand about $1.1 trillion higher than just prior to the pandemic, thus requiring that our securities holdings be equally higher," Powell stated. "Demand for reserves has risen as well, in part reflecting the growth of the banking system and the overall economy."He also dispelled questions regarding whether interest the Fed pays on reserves is costly to taxpayers. "In fact, that is not the case," Powell said. "The Fed earns interest income from the Treasury securities that back reserves."Powell added that the Fed remits all profits to the Treasury after covering expenses and that its total remittances have totaled more than $900 billion. "While our net interest income has temporarily been negative due to the rapid rise in policy rates to control inflation, this is highly unusual," he said. "Our net income will soon turn positive again, as it typically has been throughout our history."

Well, it appears the rumors were true. You’ll soon be able to earn Bilt points when you make your monthly mortgage payment.Today, UWM and Bilt announced preliminary details regarding their partnership, which comes on the heels of a $100 investment in the housing loyalty program back in July.While we only know a little bit so far, we do know that UWM customers will earn Bilt points when making on-time mortgage payments.This extends the Bilt platform into mortgage, as it currently only rewards renters for making on-time rental payments each month.UWM customers will also gain access to exclusive neighborhood benefits and special offers from more than 40,000 local merchants nationwide.Earn Bilt Points for Simply Paying the Mortgage Each MonthAs noted, we don’t know all the program specifics just yet, which the pair said will begin a “phased rollout” in early 2026.But we do know that if you’re a United Wholesale Mortgage customer you’ll soon be able to earn Bilt points when paying the mortgage.This seems to work similarly to their current Bilt points for rent, where you earn one point for each dollar of rent.For example, someone who pays $2,500 per month in rent earns 2,500 Bilt points each month. However, that program requires you to open the Bilt Mastercard.And you have to make a minimum of five transactions each statement period to earn the points on your rent. It’s also capped at 100,000 points max annually.It’s unclear how the new Bilt/UWM partnership will work and if you’ll need to open a Bilt credit card.But it wouldn’t surprise me if it’s a requirement beyond simply being a UWM mortgage customer.In addition, you’ll probably need to spend X amount per month, or make X transactions per month to earn the points for mortgage payments.The difference though is that rent is actually paid via the Bilt Mastercard, whereas you can’t make mortgage payments with a credit card.Instead, there will probably be an arrangement where your monthly mortgage amount earns points, but is paid via your typical method such as a checking account.This is how rival Mesa is doing it. They award you the points for the mortgage payment each month, but you pay it as normal, not with their Mesa Homeowners credit card.You simply tell them your monthly mortgage amount, then as long as you spend at least $1,000 in non-mortgage spend each month, you earn one point per dollar.So if the mortgage amount you enter (and verify) is say $3,000, you earn 3,000 Mesa points each month as long as you spend $1,000 on Mesa’s associated credit card.I would imagine Bilt will set this all up in similar fashion to ensure they’re actually making money on the deal.UWM Customers May Earn Bilt Points for Obtaining a Mortgage TooThe joint press release also said you’ll be able to “earn Bilt Points during origination.”While it’s not totally clear what that means, it could be similar to Mesa Mortgage rewarding its customers with one point for every dollar of their loan amount.So if you’re a Bilt member and you work with a UWM-approved mortgage broker to get your mortgage, perhaps you’ll also earn one point per dollar on the loan amount.Just note that this partnership a little unique because UWM is a wholesale mortgage lender, meaning they don’t work directly with the public.Instead, you must work with an independent mortgage broker who happens to be approved with UWM and who chooses to send your loan to UWM instead of another wholesale lender partner.Assuming they do, you might be able to earn additional Bilt rewards points.Aside from the point earning, every home loan originated via UWM will be embedded with Bilt benefits.This includes access to exclusive neighborhood benefits and special offers from 40,000+ local merchants nationwide.On the other end of things, Bilt’s home buying platform will enable its members “to instantly discover homes based on all-in pricing.”So my guess is there will be a sort of lead funnel that sends Bilt’s rent users to UWM if and when they decide to make the jump to homeownership.Somewhat similar to how Redfin users are now sent to Rocket Mortgage for a home loan. Before creating this site, I worked as an account executive for a wholesale mortgage lender in Los Angeles. My hands-on experience in the early 2000s inspired me to begin writing about mortgages 19 years ago to help prospective (and existing) home buyers better navigate the home loan process. Follow me on X for hot takes.Latest posts by Colin Robertson (see all)

The latest refi boomlet sustained its momentum that showed up in late summer, with rate drops driving a noticeable spike in September lock volume, according to Optimal Blue. Rate locks jumped 28.2% from August to September, the product-pricing engine platform said in its latest market advantage report, and drove its monthly market index to a score of 127. The cumulative yearly growth represented a turnaround from the previous month when lock volumes edged back 1.8% and finished with an index reading of 99, even as refinances began their ascent on the backs of favorable mortgage rates. "The rate rally that began in late summer accelerated in September, and borrowers reacted quickly," said Optimal Blue head of corporate strategy Mike Vough in a press release.Rate-and-term refinance customers, in particular, showed up in droves, with locks accelerating 153.7% from August. Year over year, transaction locks also surged a significant 55.1%. Meanwhile, cash-out originations increased 13.1% month to month and 27.9% from September 2024. Combined total volume of both categories led the refinance market to nab a 39% share of volume over the month relative to total activity, the highest in over two years.  "That momentum also spilled into purchase lending as affordability improved, particularly for first-time homebuyers," Vough added. Purchase locks grew 5.9% from the previous month and 8.9% from a year ago, Optimal Blue's report also said. The mean monthly loan amount continued its summer upswing, coming in at $403,746 in September, up 4.5% from August's $386,387 and 5.6% from $382,476 in July. Optimal Blue's benchmark interest rates pointed to the influence improved affordability had on September activity. Its 30-year conforming rate ended the month 18 basis points lower at 6.32% compared to August. Rates for government-backed mortgages backed by the Federal Housing Administration and Department of Veterans Affairs, similarly fell by 18 basis points to end September at 6.08% and 5.82%, respectively. Research published throughout 2025 suggests how improved affordability conditions might unleash some pent-up borrower demand as more homeowners land "in the money" once rates fall below certain thresholds. An additional 1.4 million borrowers would benefit from affordability incentives if the 30-year rate dropped below 6.13%, Intercontinental Exchange recently said. Latest mortgage trends help drive lower DTI ratios, higher credit scoresA sign of improving housing costs appered in lower debt-to-income ratios, Optimal Blue noted. Both conforming activity and FHA production pointed to decreased DTI month over month with VA levels flat. Ratios fell across all products on a year-over-year basis, though, with DTIs for conforming loans finishing the month at 36.5%. For FHA- and VA-sponsored mortgages, debt to income stood at 44.3% and 44.7%.   Meanwhile, average credit scores also shot up across the board in September's activity, with the mean increasing nine points to 746 for rate-and-term refi transactions from the previous month. For cash-outs, average credit scores rose seven points to 701. Average purchase credit scores grew at a more pace of one point to 738. At the same time, the share of first-time buyers grew in FHA and VA lending segments by just over one percentage point thanks to improved affordability, according to the report. The first-time homebuyer share in the conforming market remained the same month over month. MBS activity sees active lender interestSecondary market activity trends showed a continuation of securitization trends seen earlier in the summer. Agency mortgage-backed security executions expanded to a 42% share from August's 40%, hinting at stronger interest among large lenders.Growth in MBS transactions led loan sales to the agency cash window and aggregators to fall by 100 basis points each to 23% and 32% from August. The share of loans sold at the highest pricing tier surged 300 basis points to a 78%,"This combination of stronger pricing and greater securitization participation underscores lenders' efforts to optimize execution as volume rebounds while maintaining profitability," Vough said. 

Bilt Rewards, best known for offering renters rewards points for paying on time, plans to do the same for mortgages through a partnership with United Wholesale Mortgage LLC, its first tie-up with a home lender.Bilt, which more than tripled its valuation in July to $10.8 billion, will allow homeowners with new or existing mortgages from UWM to earn points every time they make on-time payments, according to a statement Tuesday. READ MORE: UWM to bring servicing in-house via "neutral" ICE Mortgage"The single most-requested feature that I get emailed, called and texted about is 'When do I get to use Bilt for mortgages?'" Chief Executive Officer Ankur Jain said in an interview. Bilt has grown beyond its trademark credit card, which consumers snapped up to earn points on what's often the biggest bill of the month for a tenant. The firm has scaled its rewards platform through relationships with more than 40,000 merchants and 70% of the top 100 property managers in the US, according to the statement.The company also expanded its services in April to student renters, allowing them to rack up rewards while paying for housing, and launched a home search platform last November. UWM is different from many other lenders in that it works with independent mortgage brokers to originate home loans. Teaming up with Bilt and the offer of points for mortgage payments gives those brokers another way to entice would-be homebuyers, UWM CEO Mat Ishbia said in an interview."The opportunity is there right now," said Ishbia, who is also a majority owner of the National Basketball Association's Phoenix Suns. UWM invested $100 million of the $250 million Bilt raised in July, and is among the largest mortgage lenders in the US.Ishbia also views the loyalty program as a way to retain customers, if they wish to buy another home or refinance a mortgage.Customers will be able to start earning points on their mortgages beginning early next year, according to the statement.

Finance of America is now offering home equity loans through a new agreement with Better Home and Finance. The reverse mortgage giant will offer HELOAN and home equity line of credit products for the first time using Better's proprietary Tinman AI platform, the companies announced Tuesday. Better will also integrate Finance of America's reverse mortgage products into its own platform. The move is a significant step for Better, which has hinted at larger partnerships in its recent earnings reports. Finance of America won't have to hire new teams or build new infrastructure to access the home equity loans, the companies said. "Better's plug-and-play technology lets us instantly offer and originate these new products without additional infrastructure, while its native AI capabilities ensure a seamless and efficient experience for both borrowers and our team," said Kristen Sieffert, president of Finance of America, in a press release. The Tinman platform can facilitate closings and fundings in just a few days, Better claims. Finance of America will also implement its own version of Better's artificial intelligence voice loan assistant Betsy. The mostly direct-to-consumer Better reported $240 million in HELOC volume in the second quarter, accounting for 20% of its total production this past spring. Better has not posted a profitable quarter since going public in August 2023, but crossed a billion-dollar origination threshold recently and has a growing retail division. Better will now offer Finance of America's first- and second-lien reverse mortgage products for homeowners age 55 years or older. The Texas-based reverse lender funded just over $600 million of reverse mortgages in the second quarter and also posted an $80 million profit. The partnership, while not a merger nor acquisition, comes amid a busy year for such deals between industry players. While some originators like Rocket Cos. have made purchases to expand their origination and servicing capabilities, other firms have agreed to go private or instead pivot their operations amid the sluggish yet improving home buying landscape.

Bottom line: Wells Fargo's third quarter profit jumped 9%, eclipsing analysts' expectations by a wide margin.Expert quote: "Wages have kept up with inflation for many folks, and we continue to see unemployment be quite low historically," Chief Financial Officer Mike Santomassimo said. Forward look: Wells Fargo increased its target for return on tangible common equity to 17%-18%, up from its previous 15% guidance Wells Fargo firmly beat third-quarter earnings estimates Tuesday, paced by strong growth in its consumer and investment banking business lines. The San Francisco-based bank reported net income totaling $5.6 billion, up 9% from the same period in 2024. The result equaled $1.66 per share. Analysts had been expecting earnings per share of about $1.54, according to Zacks investment research. Along with its third-quarter earnings, Wells announced that CEO Charlie Scharf has become the company's chairman. The move completed a transition the company first announced in August. It came despite opposition from a shareholder activist group that had urged Wells Fargo to keep the two roles separate. During the third quarter, strength across multiple business lines drove spread income and fee income higher, Scharf said. Total quarterly revenue reached $21.4 billion, a 5% annual increase."I'm excited about the continued progress we are making on our strategic priorities which is improving our financial performance," Scharf said in a press release. "I am more optimistic than ever about our path forward as we continue to leverage our strong franchise to position us for long-term growth."The gains were not accompanied by credit issues, as Wells Fargo reported declines in both net chargeoffs and nonaccrual loans compared with the same three-month period in 2024. Chief Financial Officer Mike Santomassimo said on a conference call with reporters that Wells Fargo was experiencing "good consistent performance," especially on the consumer side. "We've continued to see higher payments on credit cards than what we had modeled now for a few quarters, we continue to see delinquencies perform better than what we had modeled," Santomassimo said. "The performance has been quite consistent for a number of quarters, and I think it's been good."Auto loan originations totaled $8.8 billion in the third quarter, up from $4.1 billion a year ago. Similarly, credit card spending volume rose 9% from the third quarter in 2024, topping $47 billion.Both Scharf and Santomassimo credited the results to underlying strength in the U.S. economy. "Wages have kept up with inflation for many folks, and we continue to see unemployment be quite low historically," Santomassimo said. Wells Fargo also got boosts from its investment banking, wealth and equities businesses, all of which reported solid annual gains. Revenue from wealth and investment management activities totaled $4.2 billion, up 8% from a year earlier. Meanwhile, both investment banking and equities trading produced double-digit revenue increases — in line with broader, nationwide increases in debt issuances, initial public offerings and merger-and-acquisition transactions, according to Moody's Investment Research.Wells Fargo increased its projections for full-year 2025 noninterest expenses to $54.6 billion, up from the prior $54.2 billion estimate, due in part to higher revenue-linked compensation costs, which Santomassimo called "a good thing."The company maintained its prior net interest income guidance, which called for a full-year total of $47.7 billion. At the same time, it lifted its medium-term return-on-tangible-common-equity target to 17%-18% from its previous 15% guidance. "While some economic uncertainty remains, the U.S. economy has been resilient and the financial health of our clients and customers remains strong," Scharf said in the press release. The three-month period ending Sept. 30 was Wells Fargo's first full quarter since regulators terminated a cap that had limited total assets to $1.95 trillion. The cap had been imposed in 2018 as punishment for the bank's fraudulent accounts scandal.

The US is now collecting tariffs on imported timber, lumber, kitchen cabinets, bathroom vanities and upholstered furniture, duties that threaten to raise the cost of renovations and deter new home purchases. The import taxes — initially set at 25% for cabinets, vanities and upholstered wooden furniture — officially took effect on Tuesday at 12:01 a.m. New York time. Imports of softwood timber and lumber, meanwhile, are newly subject to 10% fees. At President Donald Trump's direction, most of the lumber and furniture tariffs are set to snap even higher in the new year under US  — with upholstered wooden products subject to a 30% rate and kitchen cabinets and vanities at 50% as of Jan. 1. READ MORE: Lumber prices swing as tariff fears roil marketsThe tariffs are the latest implemented by Trump, who continues to roil world markets by erecting trade barriers aimed at driving manufacturing back to the US. The strategy spans broad country-based levies as well as charges imposed on specific goods such as metals and autos. On Friday, Trump threatened to slap an additional 100% tariff on Chinese goods starting Nov. 1 in retaliation to Beijing's clampdown on exports of rare earth materials used in mobile phones, electric vehicles and other technology. The crux of Trump's tariff regime — tariffs on goods from specific economies — remains in legal jeopardy after federal courts ruled he overstepped the emergency powers used to impose them. The Supreme Court is expected to hear arguments in the administration's appeal next month. Sector-specific levies, like those on wooden furnishings, rest on stronger ground. They come under a separate authority — Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act — that allows the president to apply tariffs in the name of national security.  Trump described his wood and furniture tariffs as helping to "strengthen supply chains, bolster industrial resilience, create high-quality jobs and increase domestic capacity utilization for wood products."READ MORE: NAHB's top economist weighs tariffs, immigration, economicsYet economists and homebuilders have warned they also could create obstacles to another of Trump's goals: boosting homebuilding and sales. Trump has for months cajoled Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell to lower rates in part to boost home affordability, but critics say the new tariffs could more than offset any gains from lower mortgage and lending costs. Roughly 7% of all goods used in new residential construction come from foreign suppliers, according to the National Association of Home Builders, which cited 2024 data. Even without new import taxes, the group has said the cost of building materials has risen by 34% since Dec. 2020. The new wood and furniture tariffs are uniquely designed — with provisions allowing the US Commerce Department to periodically consider adding new lumber and timber products to the list of goods hit with the levies. Trump also ordered administration officials to vigilantly monitor the price of imports and impose "specific, compound or mixed tariffs" when necessary to counter goods deemed to have unfairly low costs. Unlike typical tariffs — expressed as a percentage and applied to invoiced prices — specific tariffs could be set in US dollars and applied against a select weight or other unit of measurement. Wooden furniture imports from the UK, Japan and European Union are subject to lower, discounted rates meant to reflect separate trade deals inked with the US. Those from the UK are being assessed at 10%, whereas those from Japan and the EU now are subject to 15% charges. 

Key insight: Citigroup's net income for the third quarter rose by double-digits.Forward look: The megabank slightly tweaked its guidance for full-year revenues and expenses. Supporting data: Revenues for Citi's banking business, which includes investment banking, rose 34% year over year.This news is developing. Please check back for updates.Citigroup's latest earnings performance once again topped Wall Street expectations, as each of the megabank's five business lines reported record third-quarter revenue and higher returns. Citi's net income surged 16% year over year, totaling $3.8 billion for the quarter ending Sept. 30. Firmwide revenues came in at $22.1 billion, up 9% compared with the same quarter last year.Earnings per share totaled $1.86. Analysts had been expecting earnings per share of $1.72, according to S&P Capital IQ. Earnings per share would have totaled $2.24 if not for a previously disclosed goodwill impairment charge of $726 million that Citi took in connection to its deal to sell a 25% stake of Banamex, its Mexican retail banking franchise, to a local businessman.In a press release Tuesday morning, CEO Jane Fraser said the bank's multiyear overhaul is finally paying off. Fraser — who is American Banker's Most Powerful Woman in Banking for the fifth consecutive year — has been overseeing the revamp for nearly five years."The relentless execution of our strategy is delivering stronger business performance quarter after quarter and improving our returns," Fraser said in the release. "The cumulative effect of what we have done over the past years — our transformation, our refreshed strategy, our simplification — have put Citi in a materially different place in terms of our ability to compete."During the third quarter, each of Citi's businesses maintained their streak of achieving positive operating leverage, with revenues outpacing expenses. Citi's banking business, which includes investment and corporate lending, led the way with revenues up 34% year over year. Revenues for the markets business, which includes fixed income markets and equity markets, rose 15%, while revenues for wealth, services and U.S. personal banking rose by high single digits.Firmwide expenses of $14.3 billion rose 9% compared with the year-ago quarter. The increase was due in part to the goodwill impairment charge as well as higher compensation and benefits.The $2.6 trillion-asset company is still charging toward a key profitability metric target, return on tangible common equity, which it has set at 10-11% by 2026. During the third quarter, it came in at 8%. It would have been 9.7% if not for the goodwill impairment charge, the company noted in the release.Citi returned $6.1 billion to shareholders, including $5 billion in share repurchases and the remaining in dividends. Year to date, the bank has returned $12 billion, Fraser said.The company slightly tweaked its guidance for the full year. At the end of July, Citi said that revenues would be $84 billion and expenses would be $53.4 billion. Now the bank said both those figures would be higher, but didn't specify by how much.Read more about Citigroup here: https://www.americanbanker.com/organization/citigroupCiti's agreement to sell a 25% stake in Banamex to the businessman, Fernando Chico Pardo, is the latest chapter in its longstanding plan to exit that business. The deal is expected to close in the second half of 2026, pending regulatory approvals, Citi said Tuesday in an earnings presentation. The bank plans to divest the rest of the franchise through an initial public offering.A little over a week later, Citi received a competing bid that offered to buy the entire franchise. In response, the bank maintained that its preferred path is to complete the deal with Pardo, though it planned to review and assess the competing offer, according to a Reuters report.The Banamex divestiture is one of 14 overseas market contractions that Citi has pursued during Fraser's tenure. Earlier this year, Citi said its Polish subsidiary, Citi Handlowy, had agreed to sell its consumer banking business to Velobank. That deal is expected to close by mid-2026.

Key insight: JPMorganChase saw strong dealmaking and trading boost profits in the third quarter.Forward look: The company left guidance for net interest income and expenses materially unchanged.Supporting data: The company's investment banking fees rose 16% from the prior year, to $2.6 billion.This news is developing. Check back for updates.JPMorganChase saw profits climb 12% in the third quarter, as bread-and-butter Wall Street activities and the as-yet stable state of consumers kept the bank on track to meet, or exceed, its earnings guidance.The country's largest bank by assets logged $14.4 billion in its most recent quarter, the bank announced Tuesday, as lower rates and deposit margin compression kept year-over-year net interest income excluding markets relatively flat. But strong investment banking business helped push markets revenue up 25%.JPMorgan brought in $5.07 in diluted earnings per share in the third quarter, which ended Sept. 30, beating consensus analyst estimates of $4.81 for another quarter.CEO Jamie Dimon said in a prepared statement Tuesday morning that the bank is also monitoring potential threats to the economy."While there have been some signs of a softening, particularly in job growth, the U.S. economy generally remained resilient," Dimon said. "However, there continues to be a heightened degree of uncertainty stemming from complex geopolitical conditions, tariffs and trade uncertainty, elevated asset prices and the risk of sticky inflation."The $4.6 trillion-asset company's investment banking unit saw the benefit from additional economic certainty during the third quarter, as mergers and acquisitions picked up momentum. Investment banking revenues were up 16% year over year, beating the bank's guidance of a low-double-digit percentage increase.The company's provision for credit losses, of $3.4 billion, was up 9% from the prior year, and 19% from the second quarter.Of the provision, $809 million came from the commercial and investment bank, driven by charge-offs related "to what appears to be borrower-related collateral irregularities in certain secured lending facilities and changes in credit quality of certain exposures," the bank said.JPMorgan was reported to have counted losses from the bankruptcy of used-car seller Tricolor Holdings, which filed for Chapter 7 liquidation last month after allegations of fraud. Some other banks have reported that they may have lost between $30 million and $200 million in charge-offs from their connections to Tricolor.In consumer and community banking, which had been tepid for years, average deposits remained flat, but client investment assets rose 15% from the prior year. Loans increased just 1% from the same period last year, but debit and credit card sales volume ticked up 9%. Home lending was still depressed, down 3% from the prior year, but card services and auto business was up 12%.Still, Dimon's continual warnings about the geopolitical balance have made more waves in JPMorgan's strategic planning.Security backdropThe earnings news comes on the heels of JPMorgan announcing plans to funnel $1.5 trillion into the security industries, amid increasing trade friction between the U.S. and China. The bank pledged Monday to increase its capital, resources and personnel allocations into sectors like rare earth minerals, pharmaceutical precursors and robotics, or ventures developing defense, aerospace and energy technologies.Last week, President Donald Trump announced he would impose a 100% tariff on goods from China after the country said it would more strictly control exports of items that use traces of rare earths, along with the technology for processing them."It has become painfully clear that the United States has allowed itself to become too reliant on unreliable sources of critical minerals, products and manufacturing — all of which are essential for our national security," Dimon said in a statement Monday announcing the bank's target. "We need to act now."