Distressed

While consumer distress in auto and personal loans also picked up, the pace of growth among mortgages was atypical, Vantagescore's monthly credit gauge said.

Foreclosure activity surged in the first quarter, underscoring the growing need for borrower support as certain federal protections expired.

Nationally, starts are higher even when seasonal differences are accounted for and in some areas distress is far above the U.S. average, Attom found.

Foreclosure filings increased 7% in January from December, which could be a housing market starting to experience trouble, or a post-holiday return to normal.

News reports of the negative impact to borrowers from the partial claims program's discontinuation, and a letter from Senate Democrats, appear to have prompted the statement.

But the volume of activity for distressed properties is still lower than the historic norms, Attom Data Solutions said.

The amount of distressed assets rose 10% in the first three months of the year, according to a new report from MSCI Real Assets.

But when compared past periods of upheaval, those rates remain relatively low, the Mortgage Bankers Association report showed.

Consumers are receiving demand letters on loans they have not had any communication about in at least 10 years, the regulator said.

Most of the activity covered vacant and abandoned properties or commercial loans, according to Attom Data Solutions.

While the Mortgage Bankers Association hailed the move, some experts say it could negatively impact housing inventory.

While loan performance is improving in aggregate, some borrowers remained unaware of the relief available or were unable to access it, according to the Research Institute for Housing America.

The court struck down a 2015 update to the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, which permitted robocalls to cellphones for government-related debt collection.

Banks would be wise to dust off their Great Recession playbook and shed nonperforming loans while growing through M&A.

Mortgage lenders are preparing for the biggest wave of delinquencies in history. If the plan to buy time works, they may avert an even worse crisis: Mass foreclosures and mortgage market mayhem.

Tom Marano, a former Bear Stearns banker, was apparently well compensated following the housing crisis for heading up ResCap and Ditech, both of which went into bankruptcy.

The funds the bank promised to spend on consumer relief will instead be used to make new home loans, according to a report by the monitor of its 2017 settlement with the U.S. Justice Department.

The government-sponsored enterprises are going through a transition period. From proposals for rebuilding their capital cushions to tackling shortages in affordable housing, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac face a number of key challenges with wide-ranging consequences this year.

As the government shutdown enters its third week, mortgage servicers are activating the response plans they normally use during hurricanes and wildfires to assist federal workers who may have trouble paying their mortgages.

Despite soaring home prices, other factors needed to inflate a housing bubble are absent from the real estate market. But experts warn falling home values and rising mortgage defaults are inevitable, even if conditions naturally cool off.