Kate Berry

Some of the largest mortgage servicers are still fabricating documents that should have been signed years ago and submitting them as evidence to foreclose on homeowners. Several dozen documents reviewed by American Banker show that as recently as August some of the largest U.S. banks, including Bank of America Corp., Wells Fargo & Co., Ally Financial Inc., and OneWest Financial Inc., were essentially backdating paperwork necessary to support their right to foreclose.

The Government National Mortgage Association said Friday that it is expanding the parameters for loans to be repuchased from its trusts to include those that have successfully completed a three-month trial payment period.

It will take less time than previously expected for the housing market to clear the supply of distressed homes on the market, but that so-called shadow inventory will still be around for nearly four years, Standard & Poor's Rating Services said this week.

The Mortgage Bankers Association raised its 2011 forecast of residential originations on Friday, citing historically low mortgage rates that have ignited refinance activity. But the higher projections do not indicate a recovery in the housing market.

A high proportion of business owners took out toxic mortgages on their homes, new data shows. Now in default, they can't access credit just as their firms' sales are tanking.

Home prices will fall 5% this year and hit bottom in 2012, assuming sales of foreclosed homes start to pick up this year, according to JPMorgan Chase analysts.

The Obama administration faces reputational and practical problems if it rents out foreclosed homes as part of its new efforts to unload the backlog of real-estate owned properties held by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

S&P's move caused "a big rally in Treasuries and mortgage rates have come down near historic lows," Saiyid Naqvi says. "With that, we're seeing a surge in refinance volume."

H&R Block Inc. has agreed to pay $125 million to settle a lawsuit filed by the state of Massachusetts against Option One Mortgage Corp., its former subprime lending unit.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development has reached a settlement with Bank of America, which releases the company from liability for failing to provide alternatives to foreclosure on 57,000 delinquent government-insured mortgages.

At a time when megabank mortgage servicers are under siege by regulators and consumer groups for their treatment of customers, a small band of specialty servicers is trying to convince Washington that its members can do better.

Even as tight ties between regulators and the regulated are blamed for the housing collapse, former FHA chief David Stevens shows the Washington revolving door is in full swing.

An aggressive push by the Justice Department to investigate fair lending claims is prompting a backlash from bankers who claim the government is abusing its authority.

Servicers get reimbursed for advances when a loan is modified or the home goes into foreclosure. This may help explain why Ocwen's program is specifically aimed at borrowers who've defaulted.

Most borrowers do not end up in worse neighborhoods, nor do they endure more crowded living conditions after foreclosure, the central bank's economists find.

The insurer wants to sell its depository but keep writing mortgages. Essentially, it’s making a bet on regulatory arbitrage — the idea that certain categories of institutions can dodge scrutiny being placed on their competitors.

Six Federal Home Loan banks have launched a salvo against Bank of America Corp.'s proposed $8.5 billion mortgage bondholder settlement, suggesting the payout may need to be triple that amount.

Calif. Gov. Jerry Brown signs bill limiting any lien holder from going after borrowers if a short sale does not satisfy the entire mortgage.

It's been difficult to know if the hundreds of billions of dollars of residential loans banks have restructured over the past several quarters are really working. Soon there will be more clarity.

The price of being a good neighbor can be steep for banks foreclosing on condominiums and homes in planned communities.