Lawmakers butted heads over their intentions for GSEs Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac at a hearing Tuesday, with Republican members of the Senate Banking Committee seeking private-sector solutions while a number of Democrats called the federal government a needed buttress in housing finance. MReport captured a look back by former President George W. Bush at the federal bailouts orchestrated by his administration during the financial crisis.
Read More »Industry Insiders: Rough Road Ahead for Obama Refi Proposal
President Barack Obama rolled out a $447 billion jobs bill and touted a major refinance proposal in a recent address, estimating that some 2.9 million homeowners could refinance their mortgages at current rates.
Read More »CBO Fields Winners, Losers in Obama Refinance Program
Speaking before Congress' joint session Thursday evening, President Barack Obama unveiled a $447 billion jobs bill - and plans to allow millions of eligible homeowners to refinance their mortgages at current rates.
Read More »Clear Capital: Gloomy Skies Ahead for Home Prices
Clear Capital joins a list of firms and trade groups whose batch of surveys and reports dished on consumer confidence, market health, and job growth this week. On Thursday Clear Capital forecasted glacial prices.
Read More »Markets, Analysts React to the FHFA Suits
Partly in response to suits brought by the Federal Housing Finance Agency Friday, stocks for a number of the 17 companies-turned-defendants sank Tuesday, with Deutsche Bank leading the way down midday. Market watchers across the country offered up their reactions, with some portending considerable fallout for the economy and others waving away notions that a settlement by the banks would weaken the housing recovery. Deutsche, Barclays, Morgan Stanley, and others all saw their shares decline Tuesday midday.
Read More »FHFA Sues 17 Companies Over MBS Losses
Acting on behalf of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the Federal Housing Finance Agency filed suits Friday against 17 of the nation├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ós largest banks and firms to recover losses stemming from mortgage-backed securities. At stake: tens of billions of dollars in assets, according to market watchers. Multiple news outlets fixed losses in mortgage-backed securities for the GSEs at $41 billion. The federal agency announced that it filed the suits on behalf of the GSEs in a New York federal court.
Read More »Appraisers Get New Standards
As of Thursday, appraisers and realtors must now use a new universal grading rubric when it comes to their assessments for properties with government-backed mortgages. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac recently revised their appraisal guidelines to streamline a sometimes unclear process, but some warn of the potential for fallout among appraisers, realtors, and homeowners unfamiliar with the new standards. Appraisers will need to weigh property values against new codes and abbreviations.
Read More »U.S. Bank Sues BofA Over $1.75B in MBS
US Bancorp joined a field of investors taking issue with the $1.75-billion deal proposed by Bank of America, filing suit to recover losses over alleged falsifications, according to multiple news outlets. Following a filing in New York by the FDIC Monday, the suit emerges as the newest in a barrage of legal maneuvers to hit the bank over bad mortgage-backed securities. The litigation, which Bank of America continues to fend off as it seeks to finalize a $8.5-billion settlement, concerns loans allegedly misrepresented by Countrywide.
Read More »MBA Names Top Banks in Loan Categories
The Mortgage Bankers Association came out Thursday with a list that ranks commercial and multifamily mortgage servicers on the basis of their loan size, financial balance, and amount lent to borrowers midyear 2011. Wells Fargo achieved the number-one spot for both master servicing and commercial mortgage-backed securities. According to a statement, the MBA said that Wells Fargo, PNC Mortgage Real Estate, and Bank of America topped the master and primary servicing list for commercial and multifamily CMBS loans.
Read More »NYT: Obama Administration Floating Refi Proposal
On Wednesday the New York Times broke a story suggesting that Obama administration officials are floating proposals to inject the ailing housing industry with needed relief, encourage the markets, and potentially energize the broader economy. If it passed with recommendations from a Columbia Business School proposal, the refinance plan could potentially infuse the economy with $118 billion in savings and add to historic highs for mortgage applications.
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