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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Wells Fargo plans to give its underwriters more control in approving mortgages that it retains in its own portfolio, as the bank tries to add high-quality assets to its balance sheet.
May 1 -
A coalition of 23 banking industry trade groups urged the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Friday to adopt a safe harbor protection from lawsuits for lenders that originate qualified mortgages when the bureau issues a final rule this year.
April 27 -
A surge in mortgage lending drove strong profits for banks of all sizes in the first quarter, with some banks attributing the improvement to new regulations.
April 26 -
Goldman Sachs shareholders will decide next month whether to reelect board member James A. Johnson, a former CEO of Fannie Mae, who is facing vocal opposition from a large mutual fund investor.
April 24 -
Raj Date, the deputy director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, said Friday that the agency wants to avoid creating "disincentives" for mortgage lenders and banks as part of the qualified mortgage rule.
April 20 -
The acting head of the FHFA said Thursday he is “deeply concerned” about underwater borrowers, but that forbearance plans and short sales already serve as forms of principal reduction.
April 20 -
Comptroller of the Currency Thomas Curry on Thursday urged eligible borrowers to sign up for the OCC's foreclosure-review process, and suggested that homeowners who didn't like the results would still be able to sue their mortgage servicers later.
April 19 -
As if Bank of America doesn't have enough to deal with, a spoof Web site popped up Wednesday and published a fake letter from Chief Executive Brian Moynihan claiming the bank "isn't working anymore."
April 18 -
New York Community Bancorp Inc. on Wednesday posted a 76% first-quarter jump in mortgage banking revenue from a year earlier, as the bank saw robust growth in multi-family and commercial real estate loans.
April 18 -
A group of fair housing advocates said Tuesday it plans to file a discrimination complaint against U.S. Bancorp, claiming the bank failed to maintain and market real estate-owned properties in minority neighborhoods.
April 17 -
Some lenders say the change will curtail abuses by consumers who try to hide debts. Others fear FHA's new guidelines will constrain credit just when the housing market needs it.
April 4 -
As the gridlock in mortgage servicing starts to abate, how to quickly dispense with all that "real-estate owned" on banks' balance sheets is a quandary.
April 1 -
A federal judge rejected an attempt by the Securities and Exchange Commission to compel Wells Fargo to comply with an administrative subpoena, ordering the agency and the bank to meet to resolve their dispute over documents related to an MBS probe.
March 30 -
The largest banks are charging relatively high interest rates to borrowers that qualify for a government refinance program, according to analysts, who say that the trend bodes well for mortgage profits in the second quarter.
March 28 -
Wells Fargo made repeated promises in the past six months to turn over documents and emails to the Securities and Exchange Commission but repeatedly failed to do so, according to a complaint filed in federal court on Friday.
March 26 -
Wells Fargo is trying a new twist on long-controversial down-payment assistance programs, which give money to prospective borrowers who otherwise could not afford to buy homes.
March 26 -
The Securities and Exchange Commission has accused Wells Fargo & Co. of failing to produce documents relating to an investigation of the bank’s mortgage-backed securities. Wells called the SEC's subpoena enforcement action "inappropriate and unwarranted."
March 23 -
Mortgage bondholders are threatening legal action over the $25 billion national mortgage settlement, which will give the five largest servicers credits for principal writedowns that the bondholders may take.
March 19 -
The terms of the national mortgage settlement overlap to some extent with existing federal consent orders against the largest servicers, which could complicate banks' compliance efforts with both — and the role of the external settlement monitor.
March 16 -
The $25 billion national mortgage settlement essentially allows the five largest servicers to police themselves - which has made many consumer advocates surprisingly happy.
March 15
