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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First Horizon National (FHN) in Memphis said Monday that it will take a $272 million charge in the second quarter primarily for mortgage repurchases from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
June 25 -
Among the strongest industry rationales for a national mortgage servicing settlement was that it would break the legal stalemate over a huge backlog of delinquent loans. But five months after the deal was formally struck, the promised spike in foreclosures hasn't arrived.
June 21 -
Homeowners who faced wrongful foreclosure actions due to big banks' mortgage servicing failures are entitled to cash payments of as little as $1,000 to up to $125,000, according to new federal guidelines. But consumer advocates say that disparity is too wide.
June 21 -
Six out of 10 homeowners who received a loan modification stopped paying their mortgage again after 18 months, but there may be a modest silver lining buried in the high recidivism rates.
June 21 -
Hispanic customers of JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo have long been able to pay bills or transfer money online — but only in English.
June 21 -
Hispanic customers of JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo have long been able to pay bills or transfer money online — but only in English. Now both companies are planning to expand their Spanish-language online banking services by early next year.
June 20 -
The Federal Housing Administration has rescinded guidelines that would have made it harder for consumers to qualify for a mortgage if they have a collection action or disputed credit account of at least $1,000.
June 18 -
If a bank doesn't disclose what it's not charging, someone might assume it is charging that fee without disclosing. Pew Charitable Trusts made that assumption, and says consumers could too.
June 15 -
Fannie Mae went in-house to recruit three of its last four CEOs, a strategy likely calculated to rebuild internal morale. Freddie Mac hired three of its last four chiefs from outside, signaling continued housecleaning.
June 13 -
Occupy protestors staged sit-ins at a foreclosed home in Minneapolis that resulted in 20 arrests. Problem is, the homeowners had vacated the property weeks before the protestors arrived.
June 11 -
The non-profit group said four of the top 12 banks including BB&T Corp., HSBC Finance Corp., Regions Financial, and Capital One Financial Corp. did not disclose the size of overdraft penalty fees in writing either on checking account home pages or on the Web pages describing specific accounts.
June 8 -
The New Jersey bank offers cheap mortgage refis, but their fine print means that some customers end up paying additional interest or taxes — and complaining about the extra costs.
June 8 -
As head of the Mortgage Bankers Association, David H. Stevens spent the last year warning that excessive and ill-considered regulation could drag down the mortgage market. As the new head of SunTrust Mortgage, he'll have to face that regulation head-on.
June 5 -
Newly initiated foreclosures by the Federal Housing Administration jumped 247% in April from a year earlier, while the overall number of foreclosure starts fell 3.1% in the same period.
May 31 -
The Mortgage Bankers Association raised its 2012 forecast for residential originations on Thursday, citing low interest rates that have sparked a massive increase in refinance activity.
May 25 -
Banks are benefitting from a surge in second-quarter loan growth, driven almost exclusively by a jump in home mortgage lending.
May 25 -
A Los Angeles law firm offers to pay brokers for convincing homeowners to pay $5,000 "referral" fees and sue banks. Critics raise legal and regulatory questions.
May 24 -
Bank of America will buy back $330 million of home mortgages from Freddie Mac because the bank did not get full appraisals on some properties, raising concerns that some newly originated loans are not meeting underwriting guidelines.
May 23 -
Banks are doing what they can to avoid depressing home prices, by focusing on reducing foreclosures rather than flooding the market with their backlog of properties.
May 21 -
Inspired by rock bank REO Speedwagon, the North Carolina Bankers Association has created a website where banks – and only banks – can market real estate-owned properties directly to consumers.
May 15
