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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Florida foreclosure courts losing "rocket dockets" in July due to lack of funding; states cracking down on disciplinary actions against appraisers; and more.
May 18 -
For now, regulators are letting banks hold fees steady. But in a shaky housing market, the banks are demanding more research from appraisers, who complain of "scope creep."
May 17 -
The FDIC files suit against two companies for failure to provide oversight of appraisal; new report finds evidence of redlining on refi loans in communities of color.
May 11 -
When Noel Watts, the vice president of mortgage banking at Marshall & Ilsley Bank, set out to upgrade the lender's origination platform two years ago, he expected interest rates to rise and mortgage volume to plummet.
May 9 -
The city says the German bank has become "one of the largest slumlords" in town. Deutsche Bank says L.A.'s blaming the wrong party and that the bank's just an MBS trustee.
May 4 -
With sales weak, Beazer Homes, a top builder, resorts to buying distressed properties in Phoenix and renting them out; B of A exec drops science about short sales; and more.
May 4 -
The South Carolina Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered a 90-day halt to all pending foreclosures in the state, to give banks and borrowers more time to pursue loss mitigation.
May 3 -
Loan officers can "educate" real estate agents about the short-sale process, B of A says, but some interpret that pitch as a subtle hint they should send loan business to the bank.
May 3 -
Ally Financial, poised to go public later this year and repay the rest of its bailout funds, reported lower quarterly income in its auto- and home-lending units.
May 3 -
The GSEs will introduce new financial penalties and incentives to encourage mortgage servicers to pursue loan modifications and other alternatives to foreclosure.
April 28 -
Billions of dollars of delinquent FHA-insured loans held on balance sheets are looking more like shadow nonperformers, and banks are unlikely to be fully reimbursed for losses.
April 27 -
One likely result of the consent orders federal regulators recently issued against the largest servicers is that thousands of borrowers will get another shot at a loan modification.
April 23 -
One likely result of the consent orders federal regulators recently issued against the largest servicers is that thousands of borrowers will get another shot at a loan modification.
April 21 -
Fair Isaac says it has found a way to predict strategic defaults; mortgage brokers and loan officers try to game the Fed's compensation rule but the joke's on them; and more.
April 20 -
Regulators never questioned the underlying business model of Merscorp, whose private loan registry has become a lightning rod for foreclosure litigation.
April 15 -
Regulators never questioned the underlying business model of Merscorp, whose private loan registry has become a lightning rod for foreclosure litigation.
April 15 -
In addition to the 14 biggest mortgage servicers, two of the biggest vendors to the industry received cease-and-desist orders from regulators Wednesday. One was stronger than the other.
April 13 -
Fannie Mae is once again offering to pay 3.5% in closing costs for buyers of its repossessed homes, the number of which has nearly doubled in the past year.
April 11 -
The only bank that has been penalized for mortgage servicing lapses got slapped for doing the opposite of what state attorneys general have been demanding.
April 10 -
MBA wants to delay servicing fee revamp; a proactive borrower, rejected for a loan mod, designs a website to help others figure out if they qualify.
April 6
