Industries

Freddie Mac's second-quarter single-family funding was the strongest it's been in a year, positioning the company to supplant the coming drop in refinancing with purchase mortgages.

The first stress tests for regional banks show loan losses closely in line with the postcrisis period. However, an independent analysis suggests losses likely would be even higher.

Lawmakers included a measure that will impose new mortgage reporting requirements on banks and servicers as part of a short-term highway funding bill passed this week by both chambers of Congress.

Home Affordable Modification Program denial rates are still high, but the Treasury Department and top mortgage servicers contend that the numbers have improved.

The Federal Housing Administration is expected to rebuff a government watchdog report that blasted down payment assistance programs. The report has raised concerns that mortgage lenders would have to indemnify FHA for past loans, and that housing finance agencies would have the programs restructured.

Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry laid out a sweeping financial reform agenda on Wednesday, suggesting he would force the biggest banks to hold even more capital or reinstitute elements of the Glass-Steagall Act.

The Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program is renewing calls for further investigation of servicers it claims may be denying too many Home Affordable Modification Program applications.

The House Financial Services Committee tackled several key bills including ones targeting Operation Choke Point, executive compensation at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, small banks' exam cycle, and changes or delays to several actions by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Signs of optimism are growing for acquisition, development and construction loans as banks hone strategies in a market transformed by the crisis.

The Mortgage Bankers Association on Wednesday said the housing market recovery has shifted to "a higher gear," and it raised its forecasts for total originations and home purchases for this year and 2016.

Bankers were pleased with the dramatic leap in home lending last quarter, but they cautioned that volume will slow in the second half as rate increases curb refinancings, nonbanks provide stiffer competition, servicing costs remain high and underwriting standards change.

What asset threshold? Community banks may not be required by law to conduct stress tests, but about one in three have been asked by their examiners to do so, according to a recent survey of banks.

Federal judges have dismissed two lawsuits that accused Wells Fargo of reverse-redlining in Los Angeles and Cook County, Ill., Reuters reported.

WASHINGTON — The efforts of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac shareholders to claw back the value of their investments by suing the U.S. Treasury have not elicited much support on Capitol Hill.

Struggling to win business in the age of QM, Impac Mortgage has relaxed underwriting requirements in hopes of attracting borrowers many other lenders won't touch.

The Federal Housing Administration wants to set a hard deadline for servicers to file claims on soured mortgages. Industry executives say it should be manageable — unless foreclosures surge again.

BOK Financial has hired Glenn Brunker to oversee mortgage operations and manage the bank's transition to a new federally-required consolidated mortgage disclosure regime.

The agency's Semiannual Risk Perspective pinpointed compliance and operational risk as potential problems for big banks while it outlined a different set of challenges for midsize and community banks.

Despite some silver lining, analysts say the Supreme Court decision upholding "disparate impact" in fair-lending disputes will only embolden activists and regulators to bring more cases.

If Congress fails to extend the Mortgage Debt Forgiveness Relief Act, thousands of homeowners still suffering from the effects of the housing crisis could be forced to pay federal income tax on loan modifications or foreclosures.