Category: Top National News

Bloomberg, Oct. 2, 2015–Perlberg, Heather
Rebecca Mairone scarcely deserves a mention in the annals of finance, except for this: She’s the only executive of a major U.S. mortgage lender found liable for her part in the 2008 financial crisis.

New York Times, Oct. 1, 2015–Goldstein, MatthewHousing advocates have attracted a prominent ally in their push to change the federal government’s policy of selling distressed mortgages at a discount to private equity firms and hedge funds: Sen. Elizabeth Warren.

Wall Street Journal, Sept. 29, 2015–Light, Joe
Mortgage lenders and real-estate agents are bracing for the Oct. 3 implementation of a five-year-old law that has forced them to overhaul the way they process sales. Lenders have spent billions of dollars in technology-system changes and training to get ready for the changeover, said David Stevens, president of the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Reverse Mortgage Daily, Sept. 29, 2015–Oliva, Jason
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s controversial consumer complaint database could be the agency’s undoing if proper oversight is not put into place, says Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) President and CEO David Stevens.

HousingWire, Sept. 29, 2015–Garrison, Trey
The House Financial Services Committee heard the semi-annual report from Richard Cordray, director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, reflecting partisan tensions and impending implementation of several key rules.

Wall Street Journal, Oct. 4, 2015–Davidson, Kate
It’s a favorite lament of community banks: The 2010 Dodd-Frank law is squeezing small financial firms and crimping access to credit for Main Street, all in the name of protecting the country from another financial crisis. A look at the data shows the reality is more complicated.

24/7 Wall Street, Oct. 5, 2015–Lange, Chris
Though real estate investment trusts have been a popular vehicle for investments in the past, they have suffered over the past year. At current levels, Credit Suisse sees mortgage-based REITs as an attractive investment opportunity, based on stabilized book values and earnings outlooks.

HousingWire, Oct. 5, 2015
The Securities and Exchange Commission announced Monday that it charged Home Loan Servicing Solutions for making “material misstatements” about its relationship with Ocwen Financial as well as misstating its net income on several occasions.

Bloomberg, Sept. 25, 2015–Mulholland, Sarah
Real estate investment trusts–companies that own properties such as luxury hotels, office towers and shopping malls — are trading at an almost 15 percent discount to what investors would pay for buildings individually, according to Green Street Advisors LLC. The gap, the biggest in five years, has been growing since May, pushing the odds of REIT buyouts to the highest since 2006.

OC Register (Calif.), Sept. 25, 2015–Lazerson, Jeff
If you are buying or refinancing, you need to know how to get it right when it comes to the mortgage settlement process overhaul that starts Oct. 3.