Kate Berry has covered the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau for American Banker since 2016. She joined the publication in 2006 covering mortgage lending and the financial crisis. Berry also has covered big banks including Bank of America, J.P. Morgan Chase and Wells Fargo. She has won five awards from the Society of American Business Writers and Editors, and has worked at several news organizations including the Orange County Register, the Los Angeles Business Journal and the Associated Press. Berry began her career as a clerk at the New York Times.
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Brian Moynihan has been in charge of Bank of America for nearly five years, and he has spent most of that time in lawyer mode, overseeing settlements worth $48 billion. He is generally praised for taking the bank to this point, but now comes the hard part: getting B of A to grow again.
August 21 -
The Federal Housing Finance Agency banned banks and mortgage servicers from accepting commissions on force-placed insurance policies issued by affiliated companies. At least one mortgage servicer, Ocwen Financial, has found a way around the ban.
August 18 -
PHH is appealing one of the largest judgments ever awarded in a mortgage case. The dispute encapsulates many of the problems that have plagued the servicing industry in recent years.
August 13 -
Though some borrowers will suffer from payment shock when home equity lines reach their end-of-draw-period after 10 years, the risks are isolated. Fewer than 20% of home equity lines have an elevated risk of default in the next few years, TransUnion found.
August 7 -
It sounds liked a great business formula: home loans soared at several megabanks last quarter after they spent months cutting thousands of jobs to save costs. But executives remain concerned about profit potential because market shifts and new regulations are making mortgage lending more expensive.
July 25 -
PHH Corp. has put its president and CEO in charge of its mortgage subsidiary, the unit's fourth top executive in two years.
July 25 -
Nonbank mortgage lenders are chafing at a report from a government watchdog claiming they are less regulated than large banks and pose increased risks to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
July 23 -
Independent mortgage lenders are concerned that regulators will use the report as an excuse to raise minimum net worth requirements for smaller lenders.
July 22 -
In another reshuffling of its mortgage ranks, Bank of America has promoted D. Steve Boland, who joined the company through the 2008 acquisition of Countrywide Financial, to head residential lending.
July 21 -
Nonbank mortgage lenders pose greater risks to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac because they have limited government oversight and generally weaker finances than banks, according to a government watchdog report.
July 17 -
Bank of America executives downplayed expectations about commercial lending and warned about the dangers of lowering prices to build loan portfolios, while their counterparts at U.S. Bancorp reveled in double-digit growth in the category and pledged to stay aggressive.
July 16 -
The Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago is launching a pilot program soon to buy home loans and issue Ginnie Mae securities. The program could allow community banks and credit unions to stay in the mortgage business.
July 14 -
As interest rates rise and loans become more likely to stay on the books, more banks may show up on the buy side of the market for mortgage servicing rights
July 3 -
Lenders hope to earn bigger profits by originating loans that fall outside the qualified mortgage guidelines, for which they can charge borrowers significantly higher interest rates. But legal risks remain.
July 1 -
A nonbank mortgage servicer that took on more loans than it could handle ended up delaying payments to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, according to a government watchdog report.
July 1 -
It's the mortgage industry equivalent of driving five miles below the speed limit to avoid detection by Smokey's radar.
June 25 -
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac suffered "significant financial harm" from "excessively priced" force-placed insurance, an inspector general's report says, advising their regulator to assess whether to sue banks and insurers for damages.
June 25 -
Wholesale lenders are capping broker compensation at 2.75%, below the CFPB's 3%, adding another "overlay" above and beyond regulatory requirements. Some say borrowers are being shut out as a result.
June 24 -
The Federal Housing Administration is on better financial footing thanks to an expected $418 million payment from SunTrust in a settlement resolving claims that the bank originated defective loans.
June 18 -
When a sweeping set of mortgage regulations took effect in January, many predicted a credit crunch. Millions of potential homeowners, particularly low-income borrowers, blacks and Hispanics, would be shut out of the mortgage market, unable to qualify for a home loan, industry representatives and others warned.
June 18
