Mortgages

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.

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.

The costs to extend buyouts to employees cut into Trustmark's second-quarter profit, as did a drop in mortgage banking.

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.

Federal regulators warned mortgage servicers Monday that they will still expect them to offer loan modifications to distressed homeowners even after the Home Affordable Modification Program expires at yearend.

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

Banc of California's second-quarter profits soared on stronger lending and credit quality. The $10.2 billion-asset company increased net income 66% from a year earlier to $26.5 million, it said in a news release Thursday.

Regional banks like BB&T, Huntington Bancshares and Citizens Financial are growing through acquisition and targeted business-line initiatives, but they are having to contain spending simultaneously.

Profits rose at Citizens Financial in the second quarter thanks to higher-than-expected fee income and loan growth, including improvements in mortgages and auto finance as well as a continuing surge in student lending.

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.

The $24.4 billion-asset company reported a $50 million profit in the second quarter, up 2% from the first quarter.

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.

The best thing about second-quarter results so far is that the bigger banks met or beat low earnings-per-share expectations. Otherwise they were challenged on many fronts, including revenue, expenses and margins.

A California man was sentenced to more than nine years in federal prison for his role in leading a mortgage loan modification scheme that defrauded more than 1,000 homeowners nationwide.

Federal Housing Administration borrowers have been refinancing faster than expected, creating a drag on efforts to build up the capital reserves of the agency's mortgage insurance fund.

The Mortgage Partnership Finance Direct program will now accept larger jumbo mortgages and a wider variety of products including hybrid adjustable rate mortgages, the Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago and Redwood Trust said Monday.

Mortgage originations typically surge in a low-rate environment. Second-quarter reports should show an uptick in fees from selling those loans, but what will bankers say about the rest of this year?

The San Francisco bank reported a 17% drop in mortgage fee income during the second quarter as other lenders made inroads by refinancing its customers.