Regulators are hindering much-needed competition in the banking industry and placing consumers and taxpayers at risk, according to a report released on Thursday from the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) titled "A Bird in the Hand and No Banks in the Bush." The report also noted that this lack of competition in banking furthers the same too-big-to-fail rationale that led to past bank bailouts.

Builder confidence in the market for newly built, single-family homes in July reached new heights not seen since November 2005. According to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index released Thursday, builder confidence hit a level of 60 in July, while the June reading was upwardly revised one point to 60.

Investment banking firm, Goldman Sachs reported their highest first half net revenues in five years at $9.07 billion, according to the firm’s Q2 2015 earning statement released Thursday. Citigroup also experienced significant year-over-year growth in their net income with revenue reaching $4.8 billion for the bank, compared to $181 million for the same quarter last year, according to the bank’s earnings statement also released on Thursday.

Prominent Democrats on the Senate Banking and House Financial Services Committees recently brought concerns about the a Federal Housing Administration lending proposal that could make it easier for lenders with a criminal history to continue accessing taxpayer-backed mortgage insurance.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) recently issued an advisory bulletin that offers guidance on Federal Home Loan Bank's (FHLBank) core mission achievement. The bulletin also describes how FHFA will assess the banks' core mission achievement, as well as FHFA's expectations about the content of the strategic plans for banks with core mission assets below specified levels.

BOK Financial, a regional financial services company based in Tulsa, Oklahoma, recently announced that it has named Glenn Brunker to lead BOK Financial Mortgage. In his new role, Brunker will manage all mortgage origination channels. He will replace Ben Cowen, who resigned from BOK Financial earlier this year to pursue another career opportunity.

Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen served as the lone witness in a House Financial Services Committee hearing on Wednesday titled "Monetary Policy and the State of the Economy.” In the semiannual report to Congress, Yellen was questioned about the highly anticipated rate increase, among other topics such the overall state of the economy, inflation, employment, and monetary policy. She maintained her position on the uncertainty of the rate increase until further economic improvement occurs.

For the fifth consecutive month, appraiser home value opinions dropped further below homeowner estimates in June, according to a recent report from Quicken Loans. The mortgage lender reported that appraiser opinions of home values were 1.4 percent lower than homeowner estimates, according to their monthly national Home Price Perception Index (HPPI).

In an effort to bring diversity, inclusion, and equality to their forefront agency, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) released their Office of Minority and Women Inclusion (OMWI) Strategic Plan for FY 2016 to FY 2018 on Tuesday. The plan is the result a strategic planning process to develop effective strategies to fulfill OMWI’s role in leading diversity and inclusion (D&I) and equal employment opportunity (EEO) efforts at the FHFA.

As home prices continue to increase and the market picks up momentum, more properties are being sold at a discounted price. In a recent blog from the National Association of Realtors (NAR), author Scholastica Cororaton, a research economist at NAR found that 63 percent of properties sold at a discount compared to the listing price in May 2015, according to the May 2015 Realtors Confidence Index Survey.