Mortgages

Fannie and Freddie will have more room to finance affordable rental housing, but it is unclear if it's enough to prevent possible disruptions later this year.

Mercury Network, the mortgage lender and appraisal management company software unit of a la mode, was acquired by private equity firm Serent Capital, the companies announced Thursday.

Fannie Mae, the mortgage-finance company operating under U.S. conservatorship, will pay the Treasury Department $1.8 billion after reporting net income of $1.9 billion for the first quarter.

Ocwen Financial failed a test to determine whether it had notified borrowers of missing or incomplete documents for loan modifications in a timely manner, according to the national mortgage settlement monitor.

The Boston and San Francisco Home Loan banks are poised to join the MPF Direct program, which allows FHLB members to sell jumbo loans to Redwood Trust.

Bolstered by higher originations, Freddie Mac reported Tuesday that net income was $524 million for the first quarter, up from $227 million a quarter earlier.

Two House Financial Services Committee members introduced a bipartisan bill late last week that is designed to give lenders breathing room when new disclosure rules go into effect on Aug. 1.

Banks want all loans held in portfolio to be classified as ultrasafe regardless of the underwriting characteristics or of a bank's asset size. But consumer activists and independent mortgage lenders are raising red flags ahead of possible Senate Banking action.

The troubled Atlanta mortgage servicer's independent auditor has again delayed its 2014 financial results and has raised questions about the firm's viability, CEO Ron Faris said after Ocwen reported a steep earnings drop.

WASHINGTON — Federal banking regulators are putting pressure on a dozen or more states to begin regulating appraisal management companies within their borders.

Another Bank of America executive has joined Novantas, a maker of financial-analytics software for banks.

Ocwen Financial and Assurant have reached an agreement to settle charges that the embattled mortgage servicer profited from kickbacks on force-placed insurance policies with struggling homeowners.

A mortgage title company and a handful of individuals are being sued by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and Maryland Attorney General related to an alleged mortgage kickback scheme with banks such as Wells Fargo and JPMorgan Chase.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and New York Superintendent of Financial Services Benjamin Lawsky today proposed new regulations for the title insurance industry, including restrictions on meal and entertainment expenses.

Flagstar Bancorp in Troy, Mich., beat expectations as it reported stronger mortgage volume in the first quarter. The company reported net income of $31.5 million in the first quarter versus a profit of $11.1 million in the previous quarter and a loss of $78.4 million a year ago.

With low rates tempting more home owners to refinance and relaxed down payment requirements spurring more home sales, bankers are more optimistic about mortgage lending than they have been in some time.

Freddie Mac has planned its first Extended Timeline Pool Offering, the government-sponsored entity announced this week.

Low interest rates may be pressuring margins, but they provided a lift to community banks that sell mortgage originations. Bankers are now debating how long the current refi boom will last.