Mortgages

Bank of America is offering $1.2 billion of mostly delinquent home loans, extending a series of sales by lenders seeking to pare holdings and meet demand by investment firms for soured mortgages.

Despite being introduced to the market with great fanfare, Fannie Mae's 3% down payment mortgage offering has yet to gain much traction with lenders and consumers.

Atlantic Coast Mortgage's Ashley Smith explains why keeping her referral partners happy is the key to her success as a loan officer.

M&T Bank said it's in discussions with U.S. officials to settle an investigation into the lender's origination and sale of federally insured home loans.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has ramped up its push for the mortgage industry to switch to an electronic closing process after results from a pilot program showed consumers favored it over in-person mortgage closing.

Prospective borrowers for single-family homes will be required to make a minimum down payment of 15% of the purchase price, down from 20%. The borrower must have a minimum FICO score of 680, down from 740.

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.

An estimated 12 million Americans buy used cars through informal channels each year. Those consumers are underserved by traditional auto lenders, says Lending Club Chief Executive Renaud Laplanche.

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.

Wells Fargo is ending some marketing arrangements with real estate firms and home builders over concerns about regulatory scrutiny.

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.

Consumers hold tight to the belief that servicers are only concerned about their ability to make payments, despite a growing industry focus on customer experience.

BOK Financial in Tulsa, Okla., reported higher second-quarter earnings as mortgage banking and loan growth offset an increase in expenses.

While rising rates may temporarily improve net interest margin and profits, they will not increase bank stock prices for at least three reasons.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency is still not producing enough adequately-trained examiners necessary to monitor Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, according to an inspector general report.

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.