Mortgages

WASHINGTON — Nearly a week after Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson pledged that servicers working to modify loans have committed to transparent and monthly reports on their efforts, key details on the reporting effort remain almost entirely up in the air.

WASHINGTON — Recent attempts, and apparent misses, by the Treasury Department to resolve pressing financial problems could be chalked up to the fact that there are no easy answers.

WASHINGTON — Even before President Bush formally unveiled his loan modification plan Thursday afternoon, the issue had become a political hot potato.

WASHINGTON — Facing solid opposition from federal banking regulators, House lawmakers appeared willing Thursday to retool legislation that would protect servicers from investor lawsuits if they engaged in widespread loan modifications.

WASHINGTON — If foreclosure rates continue to rise and the volume of loan modifications does not pick up dramatically, policymakers may be forced to devise another, more comprehensive solution than the rate-freeze plan the Bush administration is expected to unveil today.

As the debate evolves over whether the government should require a systematic approach to loan modifications, one element that so far has taken place mostly behind the scenes is advancing with a new sense of urgency.

WASHINGTON — As negotiations continue on possible ways to modify thousands of mortgages to head off foreclosures — and most sources agree a deal is likely — a wide gap remains between what the industry says is workable and what the Bush administration wants to deliver.

WASHINGTON — As House Financial Services Committee chairman, Barney Frank has collected his fair share of critics.

WASHINGTON — A last-minute effort by Democrats to toughen liability standards in a mortgage reform bill up for a vote in the House Thursday raised consternation in the lending industry but ultimately fell flat, along with other amendments designed to beef up consumer protections.

WASHINGTON — The House Financial Services Committee voted 45 to 19 late Tuesday to approve mortgage reform legislation that largely mirrored a bipartisan deal unveiled this week by Rep. Barney Frank, the panel's chairman, and Rep. Spencer Bachus, its lead Republican.

WASHINGTON — In reaction to the ongoing crisis in the mortgage markets, the Office of Thrift Supervision has launched a campaign to become the chief federal regulator for nonbank mortgage companies.

WASHINGTON — On Capitol Hill the name of the game on mortgage reform legislation is "Let's Make a Deal," and for now that game seems to be tipping in the financial services industry's favor.

WASHINGTON — It has become a standard defense for industry representatives to claim a bill or regulation they oppose would result in the loss of credit to certain types of people.

WASHINGTON — Philosophical divides among regulators on how to root out issues that led to subprime mortgage problems came to a head at a House Financial Services Committee hearing Wednesday as agency principals split on support for reform legislation.

WASHINGTON — House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank put speculation over the details of his mortgage reform bill to rest by introducing legislation to create new standards for all mortgage originations, require new underwriting standards, and hold securitizers liable for poor loans.

WASHINGTON — A bill by House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank to revamp mortgage standards would leave the Federal Reserve Board off the list of regulators that would write rules to implement it, according to financial services and consumer advocacy representatives given a sneak peek this week.

WASHINGTON — The subprime mortgage crisis and the ensuing credit crunch have led to tighter lending practices in several regions, according to a Federal Reserve Board report released Wednesday.

WASHINGTON — Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson called Tuesday for tougher mortgage standards, including uniform national licensing of brokers, but he left unclear whether he was prepared to support legislation to overhaul lending standards.

WASHINGTON — Approximately 1.1 million foreclosures are expected in the next six to seven years due to aggressive lending practices, fluctuating home prices, and the rise of the securitization model that allowed lenders to significantly lower underwriting standards, according to a Government Accountability Office report expected soon.

WASHINGTON — The hallmark of Sen. Chris Dodd's chairmanship of the Senate Banking Committee has been a focus on the subprime mortgage fallout, but if the Connecticut Democrat is serious about eradicating lending practices he says precipitated the surge in foreclosures, he has a long haul ahead.