The count of construction cranes is up more than 10 percent across all of North America, with Toronto and Seattle topping the list.

The Community Reinvestment Act is important to provide fair access to credit and investment, and many financial institutions agree it’s an important tool in their business strategy. But current guidelines render it ineffective, and it’s time regulators institute much-needed change.

LRES Corp., a national residential and commercial mortgage services company, recently announced it promoted Jill Haro to the position of senior vice president of corporate administration.Haro has more than 15 years of experience in the real estate mortgage services industry and was recognized as a vital leader in the effort to grow the company’s business and market share.

The Senate Banking Committee was set to vote Thursday on the confirmation of the next director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, but announced suddenly that it would postpone its vote. The new date for the vote is still to be determined.

Applicants looking to get a small-dollar mortgage struggle to get approved, but it has nothing to do with their credit worthiness. The denial rate for mortgages up to $70,000 was 18% in 2017. This is about double the denial rate for loans of more than $150,000 that same year.