Mortgages

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.

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama has signed a housing reform bill that will open the door for welfare recipients to use federal rent vouchers to purchase manufactured homes and become homeowners.

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.

The private equity firm GTCR is interested in fintech companies looking to disrupt the status quo, so long as they have proved themselves and are paired with managers who have a long track record of success.

The Federal Housing Administration is promoting a particular kind of financing for residential energy retrofits that another regulator staunchly opposes. Mortgage lenders and investors have qualms, too, about the impact on their standing in collateral claims.

Iberiabank in Lafayette, La., neutralized the energy issues common to Gulf region lenders these days with a one-two punch of stronger fee income and robust, more profitable lending.

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.

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.