Kate Berry

Starting Jan. 1, lenders, for the first time, will be held to the good-faith estimate of closing costs they provide loan applicants. Lenders will be forbidden from increasing some charges at the closing table and limited to a 10% increase on other fees.

The Treasury Department's pledge of unlimited support for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac may foreshadow changes to the Obama administration's Home Affordable Modification Program.

Private mortgage insurers have stepped up their rejections of claims on defaulted loans, compounding the pain that banks and other lenders have felt from the housing crisis.

Private mortgage insurers have stepped up their rejections of claims on defaulted loans, compounding the pain that banks and other lenders have felt from the housing crisis.

HUD to lift 1% cap on FHA origination fees; RealtyTrac reports fourth straight month-to-month drop in foreclosure filings; and more.

Taylor Capital Group Inc.'s return to the home mortgage business after eight years illustrates that sometimes it's who you know — and what they know.

Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan asked Congress for a bigger stick to wield with large lenders that originate Federal Housing Administration mortgages around the country. Make that two bigger sticks.

Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan is expected to tell lawmakers Wednesday that the Federal Housing Administration needs greater authority to cut off mortgage lenders with high default rates.

The issue is more than an academic one today. A proposed overhaul of financial regulation being debated in Congress would require securitizers of mortgages to keep, at minimum, between 5% and 10% interest in the pools.

The FHA proposed changes Monday to reduce the risk to its insurance funds, which have fallen below the congressionally mandated capital reserve ratio of 2%.

Delinquencies rise at Freddie Mac; credit bureaus "score" a court victory over FICO; making securitizations more transparent; and more.

Citigroup is reporting a higher redefault rate on home loans it has modified and signs of heightened risk in its servicing portfolio.

In another dismal quarterly report, the Mortgage Bankers Association said Thursday that the share of all loans that were either 30 days or more delinquent or in foreclosure soared to 14.4% in the third quarter, the highest rate in 38 years.

Servicing is where the action — and government money — has gravitated. "It's a critical mass that gets IBM's attention," says a former insider.

Michael A. Carpenter, GMAC Inc.'s newly installed chief executive, says his top priority is to stop its troubled mortgage unit from dragging down the rest of the $178 billion-asset company.

GMAC Inc. announced Monday that Al de Molina has resigned as its chief executive and from the board. Michael A. Carpenter, a director, succeeded de Molina as CEO of the troubled auto and mortgage lender.

GMAC's Al de Molina on ResCap brouhaha; BlackRock's Larry Fink on what caused the subprime crisis; appraisal trade group responds to criticism.

Mortgage servicers dramatically increased the number of trial loan modifications offered to borrowers under the Making Home Affordable program in October, but the number of permanent mods remained small.

Al de Molina, CEO of GMAC Inc. has a message for the rest of the industry: receiving $12.5 billion of government bailout funds (and counting) does not give GMAC an advantage over other banks.

PHH Corp.'s net loss narrowed in the third quarter but the mortgage outsourcer was plagued by credit charges and a drop in the value of its servicing portfolio from higher delinquencies and foreclosures.