Government

As more people struggle to pay their mortgages, large and small banks alike have taken the hit. The FDIC reported on Wednesday that 305 banks have made the agency’s high-risk list, and more are expected as the recession and housing crisis continue.

Freddie Mac released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) on Thursday, which shows that interest rates increased across the board this week. According to Freddie Mac’s VP and chief economist Frank Nothaft, mortgage rates followed long-term bond yields higher, with only the one-year adjustable-rate mortgage coming in lower than it was last week.

On May 8, the Federal Reserve Board finalized its early disclosure rules within Regulation Z (Truth-in-Lending Act – TILA) that are set to take effect July 30 and are meant to ensure consumers receive disclosures explaining the cost of a mortgage earlier in the lending process.

Some financial institutions are petitioning federal regulators to let them wear two hats to the administration’s Public-Private Investment Program (PPIP). They want to be able to use public money from the government to help them buy back the so-called toxic assets that they and other banks put up for sale.

At the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC’s) request, a federal district court recently issued an order to stop an Internet-based operation that pretends to function as MakingHomeAffordable.gov, the official Web site of the federal housing relief program for free mortgage loan assistance.

Three more community banks – two in Illinois and one in Washington – have succumbed to the nation’s economic crisis, bringing the total number of failed institutions for the year to 36.

Mortgage-backed securities (MBS) investors led an increase in mortgage-related lawsuits during the first quarter of 2009, according to a mortgage litigation report issued through PRNewswire on Tuesday.

McLean, Virginia-based mortgage financing giant Freddie Mac released statistics last week that showed in the first quarter of 2009, refinancing borrowers overwhelmingly chose fixed-rate over adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs).

BankUnited, Florida’s biggest independent regional bank, was closed Thursday by the Office of Thrift Supervision and sold to a consortium of private equity firms for $900 million. The deal was brokered by the FDIC and represents the largest bank failure this year and one of the agency’s costliest closures ever, second only to IndyMac’s seizure last year.

Senior government officials are weighing the prospect of charging one federal agency with oversight of mortgages, as well as other consumer-oriented financial products, according to multiple media reports.