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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Moody's Investors Service on Thursday downgraded the servicer quality ratings of two JPMorgan Chase & Co. units, citing deterioration in their collections and foreclosure processes and "operational challenges" due to the current regulatory environment.
July 7 -
Miami couple caught faking a promissory note in order to have mortgage debt discharged; HUD now pushing for those handling loan mods to obtain state licenses; and more.
July 6 -
The Federal Housing Administration is considering tightening borrowers' debt-to-income ratios, a move that would prevent the most highly leveraged consumers from qualifying to buy a home.
July 5 -
With the macroeconomic outlook still glum, housing prices still depressed and the FHA's grip on the market for low-down payment loans still intact, the mortgage insurers are stuck in the same rut.
June 28 -
Stuck between a rock and a hard place, some mortgage lenders are choosing to relax underwriting requirements ever so slightly to offset a dramatic drop in loan origination volumes.
June 27 -
The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act case whose outcome could shield banks and other lenders from litigation under a wide range of federal and state laws.
June 23 -
Robert J. Shiller recently spoke with American Banker about his glum outlook on housing and why the qualified residential mortgage rule might not be such a bad thing for banks.
June 21 -
Fitch Inc. on Friday downgraded the ratings of nine mortgage servicers citing the growing burden of managing delinquent and defaulted loans amid a climate of "heightened regulatory scrutiny."
June 10 -
Fitch Inc. on Friday downgraded the ratings of nine mortgage servicers citing the growing burden of managing delinquent and defaulted loans amid a climate of "heightened regulatory scrutiny."
June 10 -
Home purchases have picked up in the last few weeks in Phoenix and Las Vegas, a sign that some of the hardest-hit housing markets may have hit bottom.
June 10 -
Home purchases have picked up in the last few weeks in Phoenix and Las Vegas, a sign that some of the hardest-hit housing markets may have hit bottom.
June 10 -
Mortgage broker lobbies to expunge medical debts from credit reports; fraudster spends ill-gotten gains on plastic surgery; wrongfully foreclosed-on homeowners turn tables on B of A.
June 8 -
By buying Litton Loan Servicing LP from Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Ocwen Financial Corp. is betting scale will remain the driver of mortgage servicing profits after regulators overhaul servicer compensation.
June 6 -
A drop in mortgage lending volumes to the lowest level in over a decade is forcing lenders to consider new cost cuts and staff reductions.
June 5 -
Bank of America is foreclosing on a Florida office building where the main tenant is … Bank of America; penny-wise and pound foolish mortgage servicers.
June 1 -
Bank of America Corp. will pay $20 million and Morgan Stanley $2.35 million for improperly foreclosing on members of the military — some of whom were on active duty in Iraq and Afghanistan — under a settlement with the Department of Justice.
May 26 -
CoreLogic quantifies the share of short sale transactions that should make lenders say "hmmm"; distressed transactions still drive much of the housing market; and more.
May 26 -
Loan repurchase requests from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are finally tapering off. Unfortunately for lenders, a crackdown by the Federal Housing Administration is filling the void.
May 25 -
Regulators' mortgage servicing consent orders require big banks to conduct a thorough review of their foreclosures. On Friday they were told what "thorough" means.
May 20 -
Regulators' mortgage servicing consent orders require big banks to conduct a thorough review of their foreclosures. On Friday they were told what "thorough" means.
May 20
