Category: Top National News

New York Times, Feb. 3, 2016–Moyer, Liz
Wells Fargo agreed to pay $1.2 billion to put to rest claims that it engaged in reckless lending under a Federal Housing Administration program that left a government insurance fund to clean up the mess.

Reuters, Feb. 3, 2016–Stempel, Jonathan
Deutsche Bank AG must face a U.S. lawsuit seeking to hold it liable for causing $3.1 billion of investor losses by failing to properly monitor 10 trusts backed by toxic residential mortgages, a federal judge ruled on Wednesday.

Commercial Observer, Feb. 3, 2016–Balbi, Danielle
Whether or not life companies will eat up more of the lending pie this year remains to be seen, but it seems like there will be more room at the table soon enough.

U.S. News & World Report, Feb. 3, 2016–Mayotte, Betsy
It’s pretty clear that your student loan payments are going to affect how much and how quickly you’re able to save a down payment for your first home, as well as the affordability of your mortgage payments. But they can also affect your eligibility for the mortgage in the first place.

Barron’s, Feb. 3, 2016–Stone, Amey
Mortgage real estate investment trusts have had a tough couple of years. But companies aren’t standing still. Earnings season kicked off Monday with a report from American Capital Agency that is creating some optimism.

Wall Street Journal, Feb. 2, 2016–Light, Joe
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac said Tuesday they have come to terms with lenders on how to resolve mortgage disputes, capping an effort that regulators hope will make loans cheaper and easier to get for some risky borrowers.

HousingWire, Feb. 2, 2016–Swanson, Brena; Lane, Ben
The Federal Housing Finance Administration announced Tuesday morning that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are changing their loan purchasing rules to establish an independent third-party review process for loans that trigger a repurchase request due to perceived violations of the government-sponsored enterprises’ representation and warranty framework. David Stevens, president and CEO of the Mortgage Bankers Association, said that these new rules will help “broaden access to credit for borrowers” by providing lenders with more clarity about how Fannie and Freddie will handle repurchase requests.

Bloomberg, Feb. 2, 2016–Hamilton, Jesse
Morgan Stanley will pay $63 million to settle a series of government lawsuits claiming the bank misrepresented securities it sold to banks that later failed, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. said in a statement Tuesday.

National Mortgage News, Feb. 2, 2016–Bisbey, Allison
Lenders argue that the GSEs would be better off buying more loans that are already insured, rather than transferring credit risk after holding them for a time. But Freddie Mac’s Kevin Palmer says certainty of reimbursement is more important than the timing of risk transfers.

Builder Magazine, Feb. 2. 2016
A team at Urban Institute used data to calculate how many more mortgages there would be if not for tight credit standards. This team, which already calculated 4 million were missing between 2009 and 2013, found another 1.2 million missing in 2014.