Industries

The biggest change in banking in the last 60 years is the shift in balance sheets from business lending to real estate finance and therefore more risk tied to volatile real estate prices.

Independent mortgage banking and brokerage firms added a whopping 5,900 fulltime employees to their payrolls in June, according to a report issued Friday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Settlements related to court fights over private-label mortgage-backed securities are significantly boosting the bottom lines at a few Federal Home Loan banks.

The impressive loan growth in the second quarter is surprising in an economy that grew by 1.2% in the second quarter and by only 0.8% in the first quarter.

Returning Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to their status as privately owned public utilities is consistent with their mandate and makes the most policy sense.

A proposed 50% expansion to the Low Income Housing Tax Credit program would yield new opportunities for banks to finance development projects and meet their Community Reinvestment Act obligations.

Benefiting from higher loan guarantee income and lower derivative losses, Freddie Mac said Tuesday it had made $993 million in the second quarter, a dramatic reversal from its $354 million loss a quarter earlier.

Carver Bancorp in New York is dealing with a new set of challenges just months after being released from a longstanding enforcement order. The company’s woes highlight the challenges for banks with narrowly constrained business models.

Regulators' recent warnings on emerging risks with commercial real estate indicate banks have reverted to CRE practices that got them in hot water once before.

President Obama called for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to be eliminated, but Democratic policymakers attending the convention in Philadelphia appear resigned to the fact that Congress is unable to act on housing finance reform.

As if high default costs haven't been challenging enough for mortgage servicers, a growing number of seriously delinquent loans are Federal Housing Administration products, which require significant upfront investment to resolve.

Suffolk Bancorp in New York, which recently agreed to be sold to People's United Financial, discouraged several suitors from bidding due to concerns about concentrations of commercial real estate loans at those banks. The disclosures highlight the challenges that banks with heavy CRE exposure could face — as buyers or sellers — if they want to do deals.

WASHINGTON — Fannie Mae is making its housing counseling requirements more flexible so additional borrowers can qualify for its low-down-payment, affordable loan program called HomeReady.

Despite fears that increased compliance costs from new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau rules could drive community lenders out of the mortgage business, a watchdog report found that smaller companies remain active.

Regulators sought to limit improper contact between lenders and appraisers, but policies of the two mortgage giants encourage the kind of practices that contributed to the housing crisis.

Multifamily family construction is reaching the point where some markets can't absorb the new supply of units.

In markets where consumers spend a substantial amount of income on housing, it's often cheaper to rent than buy. But in these expensive markets, owning a home is more affordable.

HUD reverses course and decides to investigate findings by Inspector General that some DPA programs don't comply with FHA rules.

Mortgage originators aren't lending enough to people of color or the poor in the St. Louis, Milwaukee and Minneapolis metropolitan areas, the National Community Reinvestment Coalition said.

A private flood insurance bill passed by the House is making Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac uneasy because they fear it could lead to greater losses, according to a recent report by the Government Accountability Office.