Housing

The Federal Housing Finance Agency provided more details Friday about key features for the new single security that will be issued by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

JPMorgan Chase has purchased $45 billion in servicing rights from embattled mortgage firm Ocwen Financial.

Other regional Federal Home Loan Banks are lining up so their members can securitize FHA and VA loans through Chicago FHLB conduit.

With support from Bank of America, a nonprofit lender is trying to revitalize Detroit by offering no-down-payment mortgages at up to 150% of a home’s assessed value. The idea is to provide borrowers with enough cash to buy run-down homes and fix them up, and if the program works as promised it could prove to be a template for lending in other cities — like Baltimore — that have large swaths of boarded-up homes.

WASHINGTON — A new mortgage disclosure regime due to take effect on Aug. 1 is unlikely to cause closing delays, according to Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Richard Cordray.

Most banks appear to be coping well with the CFPB's ability-to-repay rule for mortgages, but the burden is falling harder on community banks. A new proposal that would allow more small lenders to grant home loans to borrowers with high levels of debt could help.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Department of Justice are taking a renewed interest in redlining, the practice of lenders charging more for products or excluding altogether minorities within certain geographic areas — and their findings may be surprising.

Housing affects too many Americans to simply cast out government involvement, especially where the government-sponsored entities and Ginnie Mae are concerned.

Ocwen Financial failed a test to determine whether it had notified borrowers of missing or incomplete documents for loan modifications in a timely manner, according to the national mortgage settlement monitor.

Bolstered by higher originations, Freddie Mac reported Tuesday that net income was $524 million for the first quarter, up from $227 million a quarter earlier.

With low rates tempting more home owners to refinance and relaxed down payment requirements spurring more home sales, bankers are more optimistic about mortgage lending than they have been in some time.

As banks have largely ceded the market for government-backed loans to nonbank lenders and servicers, it's fallen on Ginnie Mae to be sure that these nonbanks can meet their obligations to bondholders. It's a huge concern for President Ted Tozer, who says the company does not have the resources or manpower to examine these firms' finances.

Still reeling from underwriting guidelines that went into effect last year, some small lenders are worried that a new mortgage disclosure regime might be the thing that pushes them over the edge.

Two House Financial Services subcommittee chairmen are urging the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to delay enforcement of a new disclosure regime due to take effect this summer until Jan. 1.

Independent lenders rebut suggestions that they pose a greater risk to FHA (and hence taxpayers) than the large banks.

The Topeka FHLB's plan to allow participations in newly issued mortgage pools may benefit members institutions and the bank itself – and could soon be imitated by other Home Loan Banks.

The shift in market composition is fueling concerns that if defaults rise, the Federal Housing Administration would have a harder time making lenders eat the losses on poorly underwritten loans.

Wells Fargo's quality-control procedures will play a key role in a closely watched mortgage-fraud case that could go to trial this summer. Federal prosecutors are using the bank's internal reports to allege its executives knew about deficient loans.

A new book by the American Enterprise Institute's Peter Wallison reveals how a government push to lower credit standards brought about the housing crisis — and why a new effort to expand homeownership could inadvertently set the stage for a fresh disaster.

Lending groups are demanding the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau take down its mortgage rate calculator, arguing it is providing misleading information to consumers.