photo NANCY PIERCE The future of the Wells Fargo Championship is likely to be decided within the next few months, organizers say. Erik Spanberg[1] Senior Staff Writer- Charlotte Business Journal Email[2] | Twitter[3] | Google+[4] The Wells Fargo Championship could be moving as far away as Texas, but only for one year to avoid conflict in 2017[5] with the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow Club[6] in Charlotte, a bank executive said today. Kendall Alley[7], the Charlotte regional president at the bank, discussed the future of the PGA Tour event with me during an interview Thursday at his office uptown. Wells Fargo, the club and the PGA Tour have spent much of the past year trying to determine whether the 10-year-old tournament will continue beyond its current contract running through 2014[8]. If it does continue, a major questions remains about what happens in 2017 when Quail Hollow hosts its first major championship. The PGA of America[9], an entity separate from the PGA Tour, operates the PGA Championship. Part of the agreement to stage the PGA Championship here calls for no other golf tournaments to be played at the Quail Hollow course in the same year. “If we don’t figure out the 2017 golf-course strategy, then the whole thing doesn’t work,” Alley said. “That’s the complexity. It’s got a lot of moving parts.” The bank needs to reach a decision soon, he added, citing the need for organizers to be able to sell long-term sponsorships and corporate hospitality packages to companies beyond next year. That creates challenges for Wells Fargo and tournament organizers, who seem to be interested in a multi-year contract extension. The sticking point: how and where the Wells Fargo Championship, played the first week in May, goes during the one-year mandatory hiatus. (The 2013 tournament is April 29-May 5.)…

Kristena Hansen[1] Reporter- Phoenix Business Journal Email[2] | LinkedIn[3] | Twitter[4] | Google+[5] A federal consumer watchdog agency slapped four private mortgage insurers with $15.4 million in fines on Thursday, saying they were “key players” in an allegedly illegal kickback scheme with lenders for more than 10 years in exchange for continued business. The U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s proposed order was a way to crack down on a practice that was commonplace in the years leading up to the housing crash. As a result, the CFPB asserts homeowners nationwide likely paid out more mortgage insurance than they otherwise should have. The penalties also highlight “how murky insurance transactions could be used to cover up payments of questionable intent,” according to The New York Times.[6] The fines were issued against Genworth Mortgage Insurance Corp., United Guaranty Corp., Radian Guaranty Inc.[7] and Mortgage Guaranty Insurance Corp.[8], which neither denied or admitted to the allegations. “Illegal kickbacks distort markets and can inflate the financial burden of home ownership for consumers,” Richard Cordray[9], the CFPB’s director, said in a statement Thursday[10]. “We believe these mortgage insurance companies funneled millions of dollars to mortgage lenders for well over a decade.” The CFPB’s investigation centered around private mortgage insurance, which is required on top of a homeowner’s monthly mortgage payment if they borrowed more than 80 percent of the purchase price of their home through a conventional loan. The four insurers were noted as key players in what used to be common practice leading up to the housing bust where mortgage insurance companies would pay kickbacks to mortgage lenders in the form of “captive reinsurance,” which is essentially insurance for insurance companies to cover their own risk. Kristena Hansen covers residential and commercial real estate. References^ Kristena Hansen (feeds.bizjournals.com)^ Email (feeds.bizjournals.com)^ LinkedIn (www.linkedin.com)^ Twitter (twitter.com)^…

Provided photo Harry Carter, president and CEO of Maple Grove's Top Line Federal Credit Union, plans to retire at the end of 2013. Jim Hammerand[1] Staff reporter- Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal Email[2] | Twitter[3] | Facebook[4] The longtime leader of one of Minnesota's largest credit unions is stepping down at the end of the year. Top Line Federal Credit Union CEO Harry Carter[5] has been chief executive of the Maple Grove-based lender since 1999. He'll retire at the end of 2013. "I'm past my sell-by date," said Carter, who turns 66 this month and plans to spend time with his grandchildren. "It just seemed time to retire while I'm still a young man." His successor is Tom Smith[6], the credit union's chief operating officer. He joined the credit union as its chief lending officer in 2008. "Our board is confident that Tom has not only the executive experience, but very importantly the credit union values and the passion for our employees’ and our members’ success that describe the best leaders in our industry," Chairman of the Board Jim Kaster[7] said in a news release. Top Line was the 10th largest Twin Cities credit union last year. It opened an insurance business[8] and ended 2012 with $330.68 million in assets and 38,814 members. Minnesota's credit unions have been growing fast[9], and Top Line is no exception. It increased assets by 6.1 percent last year and 14.8 percent the year before. Membership grew by about one-third over those two years, mostly from its 2011 merger[10] with St. Paul's Como Northtown Community Credit Union. Jim Hammerand covers banking/finance, courts, and professional services References^ Jim Hammerand (feeds.bizjournals.com)^ Email (feeds.bizjournals.com)^ Twitter (twitter.com)^ Facebook (www.facebook.com)^ Harry Carter (feeds.bizjournals.com)^ Tom Smith (feeds.bizjournals.com)^ Jim Kaster (feeds.bizjournals.com)^ opened an insurance business (feeds.bizjournals.com)^ Minnesota's credit unions have been…