The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday overturned a decision by an appeals court and granted a writ of certiorari to investors of ING Group, allowing them to continue with their class action suit against ING that accuses the Dutch bank of withholding information about the riskiness of its mortgage-backed securities in the run-up to the financial crisis.
Read More »Housing Grabs 15 Percent of Q4’s GDP Growth
In the third estimate for the nation's fourth-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) growth recently released, housing retained a 15.25 percent share of the 2.2 percent GDP growth, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.
Read More »Two-Year High for Pending Home Sales Shows ‘Positive Momentum’ For Housing
"This is a positive sign heading into the spring homebuying season," Freddie Mac wrote on its blog. "This also shows positive momentum in general for the housing market, since this is the fourth consecutive month pending home sales have been up."
Read More »OCC: Delinquencies Down, Mortgage Performance Up for Eight National Banks
The percentage of seriously delinquent mortgage loans, which are those 60 days or more past due or held by borrowers in bankruptcy whose payments are 30 days or more past due, was 3.1 percent in Q4 – a decline of 0.9 percent from the previous quarter and 12.2 percent year-over-year, according to the OCC.
Read More »House Bill Aims to Protect Taxpayers by Establishing Capital Reserve Fund for GSEs
The secondary reserve could also be referred to as an escrow account, where funds are held until a resolution is created on GSE reform. The bill would establish a secondary reserve by inserting the new language into the existing statutes.
Read More »Freddie Mac Reaches Out to Borrowers Facing Higher Payments Due to HAMP Resets
Approximately 511,000 borrowers who received HAMP mods in 2010 are due to reset in 2015 and face the prospect of increased interest rates, commonly known as "step-ups." Treasury and the GSEs are reaching out to assist borrowers who have trouble absorbing the increased monthly payments.
Read More »House Committee Approves Bills to Provide Regulatory Relief for Banks
Hensarling noted the 11 bills passed by the Committee had bipartisan support and had previously been approved by either the Financial Services Committee or the House of Representatives during the 113th Congress. However, none of the bills came up for a vote in the Senate, which was then under Democratic control.
Read More »Wells Fargo to Close Servicing Site, Lay Off 1,000 Employees
Wells Fargo cited the improving economy in the last two years along with steady declines in delinquencies and fewer borrowers in need of mitigation options to avoid foreclosure as contributing factors to the closing of the Milwaukee office. The bank said the closing will be effective in late July.
Read More »Latest Real Wage Growth Could Spell Good News for Housing
In the real earnings report for February 2015, the BLS reported that real average hourly earnings – hourly earnings adjusted for inflation – increased by 22 cents year-over-year from $10.32 to $10.54 year-over-year, an increase of 2.1 percent, despite a drop by one cent from January's average of $10.55.
Read More »Senate Banking Committee Chairman Says GSE Reform is Unlikely
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac required a combined taxpayer bailout of $188 billion in 2008 after the government seized control of them. The two GSEs returned to profitability in 2012. The future of the two GSEs has been a hotly contested topic in Washington as well as in the rest of the housing industry. Both parties appear to want to wind down the FHFA's conservatorship of the two, but cannot agree on what, if anything, should replace them as well as what role the government should play in housing, if any.
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