Mortgages

The $4 trillion in mortgages serviced by the largest financial institutions slightly improved in the third quarter with more loans back in performing status and fewer in serious delinquency, a regulatory report said Friday.

A federal monitor is investigating whether Ocwen Financial is treating borrowers fairly after a whistleblower said the company may have improperly influenced which mortgages were picked for a compliance review.

A bankruptcy court judge sunk investors' hopes in their latest lawsuit against Lehman Brothers, which they claim broke contracts in junk mortgage-backed securities sold during the bubble years.

John Grayken, the billionaire who made his fortune betting on troubled borrowers, has joined the bidding for Citigroup's subprime-lending arm, OneMain Financial, people familiar with the matter said.

With some proposals still outstanding, mortgage bond market participants are concerned that eminent domain attempts would spread if a municipality makes inroads with a proposal.

Officials at Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and Ginnie Mae all heaped praise on nonbank mortgage lenders for stepping up to provide loans for home purchases at a time when many banks have scaled back.

Borrowers who have made five years of payments on their modified loans will be eligible to earn $5,000 in the next year to reduce their outstanding balance.

New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman today announced the launch of a financial consumer education web app called AGScamHelp.

Initiatives meant to increase access to credit have rekindled the debate over whether housing counseling is the best and most cost-effective way for preparing consumers to become mortgage borrowers.

Wells Fargo targets black and Latino borrowers for more costly home loans than their white counterparts in the Chicago area, helping to prolong a local and national foreclosure crisis, the biggest county in Illinois said.

U.S. Bancorp recently began offering paperless account opening after seeing good results from electronically signed and documented lending. Yet a large segment of the industry still hesitates to use this technology, for legal, technical and cultural reasons.

A final judgment against Bank of America in a mortgage-bond lawsuit by the Securities and Exchange Commission was signed by a federal judge, helping clear the way for the lender to complete a $16.7 billion global settlement of claims it misled investors about risk.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will let borrowers who have gone through foreclosure buy back their homes at market prices under a policy shift announced by the regulator for the two U.S.-owned companies.

FDIC third quarter report shows pop in loan buybacks and indemnifications.

The Federal Housing Administration could finally get something it desperately needs: upgrades to its outdated technology infrastructure. But industry groups object to the new fee being proposed to generate the necessary funding.

Giving roughly 5 million immigrants at least temporary relief from deportation could conceivably ease lenders' and borrowers' qualms about mortgages to undocumented workers who qualify with individual taxpayer identification numbers.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac updated their representation and warranties frameworks in a move designed to encourage mortgage lenders to ease credit restrictions by limiting repurchase requirements.