Merchants Bank reports fewer mortgage fraud problems in Q3

Merchants Bank of Indiana revealed it had fewer bad loans attributable to mortgage fraud in its most recent quarter. The regional bank wrote down about $30 million in loans in the third quarter, citing declines in multifamily valuations and ongoing investigations into borrowers suspected of mortgage fraud.  This marked an improvement from last quarter, when Merchants revealed it wrote down $46.1 million in loans, making it one of the first banks to acknowledge problems pertaining to an ongoing investigation into commercial mortgage fraud.  Merchants reported its third-quarter earnings on Wednesday. They come during a time when regional banks are hoping […] This article originally appeared on The Real Deal. Click here to read the full story.