News

With home prices dropping in key market areas like California and Florida, eight banks are facing additional stresses within their loan portfolios due to the eruption of home equity delinquency rates, according to a new report from Fitch Ratings.

The HOPE NOW Alliance—a national network of mortgage servicers, nonprofits and housing counseling agencies—received praise from U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, Jr., today for their quick implementation of Project Lifeline.

GMAC Financial Services, a financial services company, said it experienced a net loss of $724 million in the fourth quarter of 2007 and an annual net loss of $2.3 billion for the entire year. The financial services giant blames troubles experienced at its lending subsidiary Residential Capital, LLC, (or ResCap) for the company’s many losses last year.

Shelton, Connecticut-based Clayton Holdings Inc., a platform dedicated to providing advanced analytics for lending firms, capital market institutions and investors, confirmed with DSNews.com on Monday that it will be assisting the New York Attorney General’s Office in its case against major Wall Street firms, who are accused of not properly disclosing risky subprime loans to investors.

Charlotte, North Carolina-based Bank of America Corp.) announced this week that its net income declined 29-percent between 2006 and 2007, and its diluted earnings per share dropped 28-percent. According to the lender’s 2007 earnings report, BofA’s net income hit $14.

In light of the recent wildfires that swept through Southern California, the U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development has issued a 90-day foreclosure moratorium on all Southern California homes that are based on FHA-insured mortgages.

Concerned homeowners continue to flood the HOPE Hotline—a national loss mitigation hotline designed to help homeowners mitigate the risk of foreclosure and a key part of the Homeownership Preservation Foundation (HPF).

Tampa, Florida-based ProVest, a provider of foreclosure services, has named Jim Ward president. Ward, who previously held the position of vice president of operations, will be responsible for business development, as well as information technology and operations.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson told reporters Wednesday that he remains confident the underlying U.S. economy is healthy and that all its troubles are largely contained, according to a report from Bloomberg News.

Tampa, Florida-based Mortgage Contracting Services, a property preservation and inspection services provider, has added Gae E. Craig and Borda Jones to its management team. Craig and Jones will serve in the roles of vice president of human resources and marketing manager, respectively.