Kate Berry

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau released a much-anticipated final rule that merged mortgage disclosure forms in an effort to help consumers more clearly understand the total costs of a loan.

Banks may never be able to restore their reputations after the financial meltdown, the director of the "Wall Street" movies told a Commercial Finance Association gathering. Surely the association wasn't expecting a pep talk.

The CFPB is calling the two new mortgage forms "Know Before You Owe," an apt description since a hodge-podge of federal mortgage disclosures that the new forms will replace have long been considered duplicative and confusing.

Nationstar, Ocwen and Walter Investment picked a tough time to make an aggressive push into mortgage lending, but their efforts could pay off once new mortgage rules kick in.

Safeguard Properties on Tuesday filed a motion to dismiss a fraud complaint by Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan that seeks to bar the Cleveland property inspection company from doing business in Illinois because inspectors broke into occupied homes.

Concern is mounting that Nationstar, Ocwen Financial and Walter Investment are getting so big so quickly that they are becoming too difficult to manage and should consider tapping the brakes on acquisitions.

The Mortgage Bankers Association on Tuesday said it expects residential mortgage originations to drop 32% next year, to $1.2 trillion, due to a continued decline in refinancing activity.

Efforts to revive the private-label mortgage-backed securities market were dealt a blow Tuesday when Shellpoint Partners, the firm backed by the mortgage-bond pioneer Lewis Ranieri, said it would withdraw a proposed securitization and instead sell its jumbo loans to the highest bidder.

The cost to originate a home loan is skyrocketing as lenders try to comply with stricter rules to catch problem loans. Technology would better automate the loan process, but can small lenders justify the investment?

JPMorgan Chase's record $13 billion settlement has significant implications for the financial industry, but they may not be what casual observers expect. Following is a guide to the key takeaways from the deal.

Bank of America posted strong revenue growth in the same quarter its big rivals showed weakness on bread-and-butter banking. But concerns about its higher litigation expenses overshadowed the good news.

Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup and Wells Fargo got credit for providing $15.4 billion relief to roughly 420,000 underwater borrowers last year, according to the settlement monitor.

The Federal Housing Administration has joined Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in calling for mortgage lenders to temporarily postpone mortgage payments for furloughed government employees and contractors who have been affected by the shutdown.

Almost everyone has an opinion about how to reform Fannie and Freddie, but some housing experts say the status quo isn't so bad.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development is auctioning off roughly $5 billion of nonperforming Federal Housing Administration loans in what is believed to be one of the largest-ever sales of distressed residential real estate.

Consumer delinquency rates rose slightly in the second quarter but remain at historic lows, according to the American Bankers Association.

Bank of America, Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase and Citi insist that the Federal Housing Administration will compensate them for all foreclosure losses. But if the banks’ underwriting proves shoddy, they could be on the hook for billions of dollars.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development on Monday issued its own proposed rule defining what constitutes a "qualified mortgage," that has two exceptions to the existing QM rule finalized earlier this year by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

FHA Commissioner Carol Galante says mandatory accounting rules forced the agency to ask for additional funds and don't reflect significant improvements in its mortgage portfolio this year.

Receiving Wide Coverage ...Hard Ball: Don't be fooled into thinking that U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder will end up strong-arming JPMorgan Chase's CEO Jamie Dimon. While Dimon has largely agreed to provide $4 billion in "soft dollar" relief for borrowers, the DOJ wants more than the proposed $7 billion in penalties. But wait. Dimon also wants California prosecutors to drop a criminal investigation into the bank's mortgage practices, a request that Justice has not yet agreed to, says the NYT's Dealbook. The WSJ says the biggest sticking point is whether JPMorgan will admit wrongdoing, which Dimon has resisted. Only the Washington Post mentions that the deal still represents a sliver of the damage wrought by the bank for selling mortgage securities "that it allegedly knew were worthless."