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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The Federal Reserve's $600 billion worth of quantitative easing is unlikely to lead to another significant drop in mortgage rates, but loan rates could continue to fall at least slightly.
November 4 -
The former GMAC aims to finish a review of 25,000 robo-signed affidavits by year-end. So far, it's found "no evidence" of improper foreclosures, CEO Michael Carpenter said.
November 3 -
Ally Financial Inc. on Wednesday reported a third-quarter profit of $269 million, its third consecutive quarter in the black, driven by strong results in both its automotive and mortgage units.
November 3 -
The top servicers are doing quality-control reviews of their procedures. Bank of America, for instance, has relocated affidavit signers to the same rooms where notaries sit.
November 2 -
With more borrowers filing legal challenges to foreclosure, many mortgage lenders have turned their back on using Merscorp Inc., which operates an electronic loan registry, to bring foreclosure actions.
October 28 -
Foreclosures in Washington cannot proceed unless a mortgage deed is recorded in a public filing, Peter Nickles, the district's attorney general said Wednesday.
October 27 -
Upbeat mind-set among mortgage bankers shown at an industry convention in Atlanta; an advocacy group opines on state foreclosure laws; and more.
October 27 -
A handful of state attorneys general are taking a hard line with mortgage servicers by demanding loan modifications and principal reductions for those borrowers whose rights may have been violated by robo-signing.
October 26 -
Maine woman at the center of the foreclosure doc crisis gets a reprieve; economist gives some less-than-encouraging news on state of foreclosures; foreclosure rap goes viral; and more.
October 20 -
As the foreclosure document scandal reaches the "material weakness" level for the largest banks, attorneys representing foreclosed borrowers want to hold servicing executives personally liable for overseeing processes such as robo-signing.
October 19 -
A New York state judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by hedge fund investors in 2007 against Countrywide Financial Corp. over soured mortgage-backed bonds issued during the boom years.
October 15 -
MetLife Inc. has joined other mortgage companies in postponing foreclosure sales in some states.
October 15 -
The Federal Housing Finance Agency said Wednesday that foreclosures "should proceed without delay" if servicers have not identified any problems with foreclosure documents.
October 13 -
All attorneys general and most state bank regulators in joint effort to investigate mortgage servicers; Mers system discussed during JPM's earnings conference call; and more.
October 13 -
As servicers look more broadly at all documents involved in foreclosures, the resulting delays will hamper the filing of new foreclosures — not just those already begun.
October 12 -
A week after it suspended home foreclosures in 23 states, Bank of America Corp. said its review of documents so far shows the information used to justify foreclosures was accurate.
October 8 -
A week after it suspended home foreclosures in 23 states, Bank of America Corp. said its review of documents so far shows the information used to justify foreclosures was accurate.
October 8 -
The documentation problems forcing mortgage servicers to freeze foreclosures might have been avoided had the companies invested more in technology and hiring — before and after the housing bubble burst.
October 8 -
The state of Ohio takes GMAC Mortgage to court over fraudulent affadavits of foreclosures; servicers feel foreclosure pressure in the Golden State too.
October 6 -
With Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac now requiring that all mortgage servicers review how they handle foreclosures, more questions are being raised about the impact that potentially invalid affidavits will have on the foreclosure process, on servicers and the industry overall.
October 5
