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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Superman comes to the rescue of a family facing foreclosure; PHH grabs a bigger slice of a shrinking pie; and more.
August 4 -
As loan officers who don't meet the requirements drop out of the industry, the result could be a shortage of people to take applications — at a time when demand for refinancings is historically high.
July 29 -
Torch the car, save the house; GSE foreclosures pick up, but shadow inventory of distressed homes remains massive; and more.
July 28 -
A combination of historically low interest rates and reduced competition are fattening home lenders' profit margins, making up for lost volume.
July 23 -
A combination of historically low interest rates and reduced competition are fattening home lenders' profit margins, making up for lost volume.
July 23 -
General Motors Co.'s deal to buy a subprime car lender says as much about the state of consumer finance as it does about the auto industry.
July 22 -
Why government short sale program is falling short; a new documentary about the financial crisis is already outdated; and more.
July 21 -
Mortgage buyers are finding new reasons to make the originators buy back home loans, ensuring that repurchases will remain a burden for lenders for the next few years.
July 19 -
JPMorgan Chase & Co. is taking a hard line with some borrowers who want to sell their homes for less than they owe on the mortgage and avoid foreclosure.
July 15 -
The Department of Housing and Urban Development has requested public comment on proposed policy changes designed to reduce the risk of loans insured by the Federal Housing Administration.
July 15 -
Borrowers giving up their homes through short sales face pressure to pay fees under the table; potential ripple effects of a Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac name change.
July 14 -
The Federal Housing Administration's efforts to shift the burden of supervising mortgage brokers to lenders is creating a mini-boom in demand for brokers to bring in homebuyers and refinancing customers.
July 12 -
More than three years after the mortgage crisis began, some lenders are still selling loans to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac without properly verifying borrowers' ability to pay, executives from the GSEs said.
July 8 -
HUD selling REOs for as little as $100 in Cleveland; homeownership was part of alleged Russian spies' cover in New Jersey.
July 7 -
The government is extending more relief to unemployed homeowners who are struggling to pay their mortgages. Beginning this month, mortgage servicers are required to put unemployed borrowers whose loans are not owned by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac on forbearance plans that defer mortgage payments. (The government-sponsored enterprises each have their own plans that defer payments for unemployed borrowers for up to six months.)
July 2 -
The GES announced several changes aimed at improving the quality of appraisals, part of a wider effort within the lending industry to reduce the pressure on appraisers to overvalue homes to help loans get completed.
July 1 -
Illinois attorney general sues Countrywide; Freddie Mac blames loan buybacks on management at banks and lenders; MBA's vacant properties register is well-received.
June 30 -
Independent mortgage bankers earned $1,135 on each single-family loan they originated in 2009, compared with an average profit of $305 per loan in 2008, according to a Mortgage Bankers Association report.
June 29 -
Most bankers agree that online lending applications can attract customers and drive up volume, but few actually offer such services.
June 29 -
Calling its own techniques "outdated," the Federal Housing Administration is looking for outside help to prevent defaults in its $760 billion single-family mortgage portfolio.
June 17
