Kate Berry

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's new mortgage servicing rules may force some servicers to exit the business altogether or simply outsource servicing of defaulted loans to third-parties, experts said Thursday.

Just a week after overhauling how mortgages are underwritten, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau was set Thursday to unleash an additional series of rules dictating extensive new requirements for mortgage servicing.

Community State Bank, of St. Charles, Mich., has agreed to open a loan office in Saginaw, Mich., to settle a Justice Department lawsuit alleging it discriminated against African-Americans.

The National Consumer Law Center released a 90-page report Tuesday calling for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to make loan modifications mandatory in national servicing standards.

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Shoring up the Federal Housing Administration's finances in the short term is a top priority, but differences remain on whether the agency needs an overhaul or tweaks around the edges.

In a surprise move, the Federal Housing Administration's Acting Commissioner Carol Galante sent a letter to the Tennessee senator agreeing to make major policy changes, including ending a popular reverse mortgage program for seniors.

Michael Perry will pay the FDIC $1 million in cash from his personal funds, while the FDIC can seek the rest from Perry's professional liability insurers.

Six Federal Home Loan banks have dramatically increased home loan purchases from their members and are selling the loans to Fannie Mae, filling the gap created when large aggregators like Bank of America exited the correspondent business.

Housing advocates say there is a gap between the relief borrowers are seeing on the ground and what the five largest servicers agreed to do as part of the $25 billion settlement signed in February.

First Horizon National (FHN) is adequately reserved to cover all buyback requests from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, Bryan Jordan, its president and chief executive, said Tuesday.

Stewart Larsen, Bank of the West's head of mortgage lending, still frets about pending regulation, but he prefers to stay focused on matters he can control.

A California startup has created a Facebook application that can quickly calculate the cost of a mortgage and then directs customers to an online loan application.

Most homebuyers do not obtain multiple offers or even compare interest rates when buying a home, according to new study released by Fannie Mae.

Citing several lawsuits as evidence, activists say the bank's "abusive" lending practices triggered waves of foreclosures in low-income neighborhoods.

Joseph Smith, who is monitoring the $25 billion national mortgage settlement agreement, says he is "encouraged" by banks' progress, but he cautioned that their numbers fail to take into account that short sales carry less weight in certain states.

An independent audit found that the Federal Housing Administration's capital reserve ratio fell into negative territory, meaning the agency may need a bailout from the Treasury Department for the first time in its 78-year history.

The lender said it has committed $500 million to refinance underwater borrowers and has fulfilled its obligation to provide relief in Florida and California.

Bank of America said that it has so far offered $15.8 billion in consumer relief under the national mortgage settlement and that it expects to meet all of its financial obligations by the end of February.

The agency's annual independent actuarial report is expected to show that its capital reserves have been depleted by rising levels of defaults. FHA could shore up its finances by increasing its enforcement against banks and other lenders, but it may also need to tap the Treasury for the first time in its history.