Wachovia announced today that it intends to sell its retail bank, corporate, and investment bank, as well as its wealth management businesses to Citigroup. Wachovia Corporation will remain a public company with two main operating subsidiaries – Wachovia Securities, the nation’s third largest brokerage firm, and Evergreen Asset Management – the bank said in a press statement.

Just weeks after the government stepped in and took control of the country’s largest mortgage financiers, the two companies, Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae have received federal grand jury subpoenas from the U.

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Congressional leaders worked late into the nights over the weekend and have finally reached a bipartisan agreement on the specifics of the bailout legislation. According to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a real breakthrough didn’t come until 11:30 p.

You Walk Away, LLC, a company that helps families facing foreclosure, has introduced a new product which performs a comprehensive investigation of mortgage documentation. Based on loan audits the company has already conducted, over 80 percent of adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) revealed major TILA (Truth in Lending Act) and RESPA (Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act) predatory lending practices and real estate/mortgage fraud violations, the company said, giving the homeowner grounds to request a loan modification.

Freddie Mac announced changes to its organization and senior management today. The mortgage backer said the modifications will enable the company to help stabilize the housing finance system and position it to take advantage of business opportunities in the market over the longer term.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. announced last night that it has acquired all deposits, assets, and certain liabilities of Washington Mutual’s banking operations from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) for $1.

Top U.S. financial institutions tried harder in the second quarter to modify problem loans, according to a recent report by federal agencies. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and the Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS) have issued a joint mortgage metrics report, in which they found that actions by national banks and thrifts to prevent home mortgage foreclosures increased faster than their new foreclosures during the second quarter of 2008, despite an overall decline in mortgage credit quality.

Discussions to hammer out the details of the Bush Administration’s $700 billion financial sector bailout continue today on Capitol Hill. George W. Bush has invited both presidential nominees, Senator Barack Obama (D-Illinois) and Senator John McCain (R-Arizona), to take a break from their campaign trails and join in the debate in Washington, D.

In the midst of an unpredictable mortgage market, one mortgage company predicts success in giving back. Philip Brilliant, CEO of Chicago Financial Services Inc., knows first-hand how one copes with the ups and downs of the mortgage market and with Juvenile Diabetes.

Mortgage Contracting Services (MCS), a provider of property preservation and inspection services to the mortgage industry, has named Nickie Bigenho as VP of compliance. In this role, Bigenho will help to strengthen MCS’ quality assurance and compliance department by focusing on company-wide and industry-wide issues to identify process improvements and regulatory issues to minimize potential risk to MCS and its clients, the company said.