Tag Archives: Bank of America

On Thursday news reports confirmed that mortgage giant JPMorgan plans to scale back a $154 billion mortgage portfolio to a bare minimum on its balance sheets, even as it battles through continuing mortgage losses, multiple suits and settlements over past loan-servicing practices.

After a contentious suit against Bank of America and Merrill Lynch, MBIA Inc. ended a lawsuit against the mortgage giant over $5.7 billion in bad credit default protection the insurer underwrote for the bank's mortgage-backed securities. According to the filing, MBIA and Bank of America both agreed to voluntarily withdraw the claims and cover their fees for their separate cases. MBIA had sued Merrill in April 2009 with accompanying allegations that the bank committed fraud.

In a statement released Friday, Bank of America announced that it tapped Terry Laughlin to head up the risk management division as chief risk officer. [IMAGE] Terry is steeped in the issues that represent the most significant risk we face, and his ultimate transition into the chief risk officer position reflects that and his deep industry expertise, CEO Brian Moynihan said in a statement.

After a contentious suit, Wells Fargo agreed to settle with a group of pension funds and investors over allegations the mortgage giant dropped the ball on the risks involved with mortgage-backed securities.

HUD and the Treasury Department jointly released the June edition of the Obama administration├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ós Housing Scorecard, offering mixed results as home sales crested on a slight uptick and an oversupply of foreclosed properties remained in place. According to the Scorecard, existing home sales jumped slightly over June, trending from 25,100 to 26,900. Mortgage rates elevated the new home sales by staying low, with a number of borrowers refinancing their mortgages to recoup losses and boost their savings.