Mortgage modifications beginning to help more

Welcome to the morning roundup. Here's a look at what's news in banking and finance this morning.

Mods are helping. About seven in 10 homeowners who received loan modifications or other mortgage help in the first three quarters of 2011 are still current on their mortgages, the Boston Globe reports. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency says that the success rate has been steadily improving as mod programs have become more "substantive than symbolic."

Hawaii takes on banks. Hawaii's attorney general has filed suit against seven major banks -- including Bank of America -- claiming they are targeting elderly credit card customers, misleading them to sell them worthless credit payment protection plans, Courthouse News Service reports.

Differing takes. Were JPMorgan and Wells Fargo's earnings good or bad? The New York Times and the Wall Street Journal have differing takes. The Times paints the results as positive, with its rival taking the opposite stand. TheStreet.com explains the differences.

Selling in China. U.S. banks have been steadily selling off their investments in Chinese banks, the Wall Street Journal reports, as the banks seek to raise capital and cash. Bank of America now has only a 1 percent stake in CCB, and Goldman Sachs has now announced it will be reducing its position in Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd.

Citigroup earnings. Citigroup Inc. posted net income of $2.9 billion in the first quarter, down 2 percent from the year before but beating Wall Street's estimates, The New York Times reports.