Mortgages

Calling his state's foreclosure process "badly broken and in need of change," New York banking regulator Benjamin Lawsky wants new policies enacted to fast-track vacant property foreclosures and reform the state's mandatory foreclosure mediation requirements.

U.S. Bank and Bank of America won't have to face lawsuits claiming they failed to safeguard the interests of investors as required by their contracts.

The regulatory relief package coming before the Senate Banking Committee Thursday would force the Federal Housing Finance Agency to withdraw the contentious proposal within 30 days.

As major banks have pulled back from originating Federal Housing Administration single-family loans, nonbank mortgage lenders have become bigger players in the Ginnie Mae program.

Nomura Holdings and Royal Bank of Scotland should pay $806 million in damages to government-owned mortgage companies over misleading securities pitches, a federal housing agency told a judge.

The owner of an Ohio-based loan administrator, accused by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau of deceptive marketing, says he is the victim of a misguided lawsuit by the agency.

The Miami area's economy is on the rebound and expanding beyond sun and fun. A new influx of money, investors and customers with international ties could feed local banks' balance sheets and top-line growth.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency provided more details Friday about key features for the new single security that will be issued by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

The multifamily market is heating up as apartment owners and investors refinance in a rush to lock in low interest rates, but caps on government-backed lending programs are threatening to disrupt momentum.

JPMorgan Chase has purchased $45 billion in servicing rights from embattled mortgage firm Ocwen Financial.

Other regional Federal Home Loan Banks are lining up so their members can securitize FHA and VA loans through Chicago FHLB conduit.

With support from Bank of America, a nonprofit lender is trying to revitalize Detroit by offering no-down-payment mortgages at up to 150% of a home’s assessed value. The idea is to provide borrowers with enough cash to buy run-down homes and fix them up, and if the program works as promised it could prove to be a template for lending in other cities — like Baltimore — that have large swaths of boarded-up homes.

WASHINGTON — A new mortgage disclosure regime due to take effect on Aug. 1 is unlikely to cause closing delays, according to Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Richard Cordray.

U.S. consumers in the first quarter borrowed more to pay for education and automobiles, but overall their debt burden was relatively flat, according to a new report from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

More lenient capital requirements than expected from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were good news for two legacy private mortgage insurers, but another is facing a bigger deficit than initially thought.

Most banks appear to be coping well with the CFPB's ability-to-repay rule for mortgages, but the burden is falling harder on community banks. A new proposal that would allow more small lenders to grant home loans to borrowers with high levels of debt could help.

The administration's signature loan modification and refinancing programs will be extended for one year to help borrowers "who continue to face challenges," the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency said.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Department of Justice are taking a renewed interest in redlining, the practice of lenders charging more for products or excluding altogether minorities within certain geographic areas — and their findings may be surprising.

Trading of securities backed by Fannie, Freddie and Ginnie is down sharply since the beginning of the year. Bankers' concerns about capital and rates are among the reasons, and the problem may ultimately make the underlying market for mortgages less liquid.

Lending and access to banking services in distressed neighborhoods has risen as a result of "mission-oriented" banks, according to a new report from the National Community Investment Fund, an advocacy organization.