mortgage lender

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Rocket Mortgage Was a Refinancing Giant. Now What?

Bankers are feeling the pressure as rising interest rates make refinancing unappealing

(Newser) - In late 2020, 19 million American homeowners could've saved money by refinancing their mortgage. Today that number stands at just 133,000, according to mortgage data and analytics company Black Knight—which isn't great news for the nation's largest home lender. For most of last year, 1...

White House to Banks: Loan to Those With So-So Credit

Effort to expand recovery sparks debate on risky lending

(Newser) - The White House is fighting to make it easier for people with less-than-stellar credit to get home loans, a move insiders say will spur recovery. They're joined by housing advocates who say the improving housing market hasn't reached lower-income and young people. But the plan "would open...

$26B Mortgage Settlement a 'Modest' Help: Experts

Many struggling homeowners not covered in deal

(Newser) - The $26 billion mortgage settlement announced yesterday will be a boon for some—but the terms of the deal leave many homeowners out in the cold. Recipients of loans owned by the Federal Housing Administration, for instance, won't directly benefit from the settlement; nor will those with mortgages held...

Paul Krugman: Don't Let Mortgage Lenders 'Off the Hook'

 Don't Let Bankers 
 'Off the Hook' 
paul krugman
Jul 18, 2011 11:39 AM CDT

Don't Let Bankers 'Off the Hook'

Deals with banks for paltry sums won't fix the crisis: Paul Krugman

(Newser) - The mantra of recent US fiscal policy has been "go easy on the bankers," writes Paul Krugman in the New York Times . Trouble is, that attitude neither holds them accountable nor does it put us on the road to recovery. Now, federal officials are calling on states to...

White House: Let's Kill Fannie, Freddie

Obama administration wants to get out of the mortgage market

(Newser) - The Obama administration will propose dissolving Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and reducing the federal government’s role in the mortgage market, sources tell the Wall Street Journal . The White House is set to release three plans for moving forward without the government-owned mortgage giants, which originated nine out of...

Taxpayers Footed Fannie, Freddie's $160M Legal Bill

Americans spend $24.2 million to defend executives

(Newser) - Taxpayers have spent more than $160 million defending Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in fraud lawsuits since the government took over the companies in 2008. The closely guarded cost was released last week after Rep. Randy Neugebauer requested the figures last year. Some $132 million of the total went to...

Fla. Woman Fights Epic 25-Year Foreclosure Battle

She hasn't paid since '85, vows she's going to die there

(Newser) - A retired Florida woman who hasn't paid her mortgage since 1985 is engaged in one of the longest foreclosure battles ever. Armed with a stack of legal challenges both legit and frivolous and protected by a 105-pound pit bull, the 71-year-old has successfully staved off six lenders in a cautionary...

Years of Bank Incompetence Led to Foreclosure Crisis

Banks ignored warning signs, hired 'Burger King kids'

(Newser) - As the foreclosure crisis continues, the stories of clueless employees just get worse. Swamped with delinquent customers, banks hired inexperienced walk-ins one former executive called “Burger King kids,” who, for years, processed mortgages at an astonishing rate. Overwhelmed employees not only signed papers without reading them—they sometimes...

Dozens of States Plan Foreclosure Probe

Joint investigation may force lenders to rewrite large numbers of loans

(Newser) - A coalition of up to 40 state attorney-generals is preparing to launch a joint probe into allegations that mortgage-servicing firms used fraudulent paperwork to kick people out of their homes. Bank of America has already suspended evictions in all 50 states while it looks into "robo-signed" foreclosure documents, and...

Home Repos Hit Recession High

US on track for 1M foreclosures this year

(Newser) - Lenders took back more homes in August than any month since the start of the US mortgage crisis. The increase in home repossessions came even as the number of properties entering the foreclosure process slowed for the seventh month in a row, RealtyTrac said today. In all, banks repossessed 95,...

FBI Plans Massive Sweep of Mortgage Fraudsters

Hundreds of arrests expected next week

(Newser) - FBI agents will fan out across the country next week and arrest hundreds of shady lenders who duped people into taking mortgages they couldn't afford, reports the Financial Times . The crackdown on mortgage fraud will go after companies that misled people about their loans and potential rescue programs, or that...

Treasury to Squeeze Mortgage Lenders

Will expand program to help keep people in their homes

(Newser) - The Obama administration, battling a foreclosure crisis that shows no signs of relenting, will step up pressure on mortgage companies to do more to help people remain in their homes, officials said yesterday. The administration will announce its expanded program tomorrow, a Treasury spokeswoman said, and will take "additional...

BofA, Wells Fargo Rank Worst for Loan Modifications

Treasury report rates banks' performance

(Newser) - Bank of America began modifying just 4% of its loans eligible under the Making Home Affordable Act, according to a Treasury report on big banks' performance, while Wells Fargo started just 6%. JPMorgan Chase led the pack with 20%, Bloomberg reports, while Citigroup had 15%. “Some of the servicers...

Bad Loan Fees Too Juicy to Give Homeowners a Break

(Newser) - The government's foreclosure prevention program is failing largely because of mortgage companies who can make more money when loans go delinquent, industry insiders tell the New York Times. Companies servicing mortgage loans charge many lucrative fees as loans go bad—recoverable, if necessary, out of the proceeds when the foreclosed...

Creditworthy Shunned Under Tight New Mortage Rules

(Newser) - Would-be homeowners with good credit are finding themselves shut out of the mortgage market by stiff restrictions from wary lenders, the New York Times reports. Many believe that in an effort to move away from the laxness blamed for the financial crisis, lenders have gone too far the other way...

New Foreclosure Legislation May Not Be Enough

Congressional aid to homeowners may need overhaul, not 'patches'

(Newser) - Congress’ Hope for Homeowners plan was aimed at fighting the foreclosure epidemic, and it’s been a success for exactly one person. Now, lawmakers have put “patches” on the legislation—but some worry the fixes aren’t going to do the job, ProPublica reports. Instead, it needs “some...

'Mini-Madoff' Scammed Churchgoers, Blames Banks

(Newser) - For some, 2009 may be remembered as the year of the Ponzi scheme: Last year, federal regulators prosecuted 13 such scams, but in just the first few months of this year, they’ve already filed 22 cases, reports ABC News. One recent bust is Long Island's Peter Dawson, who stiffed...

Pressure on Freddie Exec Was 'Relentless'
Pressure on Freddie
Exec Was 'Relentless'
UPDATED
Apr 23, 2009 5:53 AM CDT

Pressure on Freddie Exec Was 'Relentless'

Colleagues say Kellermann lost weight, barely went home

(Newser) - The acting chief financial officer at Freddie Mac, who hanged himself yesterday, was working nonstop and had recently asked the company for a security detail, colleagues tell the New York Times. David Kellermann was struggling to balance the contradictory demands of investors, regulators, and lawmakers, and coworkers say he had...

As Bank Moratoriums End, Foreclosures Surge

(Newser) - As internal bank moratoriums on foreclosure imposed last year expire, many more Americans are losing their homes, the Wall Street Journal reports. Foreclosure proceedings were up 6% in February over January, and up 30% from March 2008. Just as the Obama administration's rescue plan kicks in, delinquents who don’t...

Obama Housing Rescue Plan Leaves Many Out in Cold

Criteria keep many who need help from refinancing under the plan

(Newser) - A large swath of Americans will see no help under the Obama administration’s housing rescue plan, the New York Times reports. While designed to prevent 3 million to 4 million foreclosures through loan modifications, the plan doesn't cover those whose loans aren’t backed by Fannie Mae or Freddie...

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