Tag Archives: Bank of America

The National Fair Housing Alliance announced the fourth amendment of its discrimination complaint against Bank of America Thursday with the addition of five new cities. The amended complaint now includes 20 metro areas in which NFHA alleges Bank of America has neglected to maintain and market foreclosed and REO properties in minority neighborhoods. NFHA says it will release even more evidence early next year, but according to BofA, the group's accusations are ""simply untrue.""

When it comes to next year's regulatory obstacles, CEOs and senior executives from the mortgage industry's biggest players agree on one thing: Education will be key to keeping business going smoothly. In a panel at the 2013 Realtors Conference and Expo, high-level names from Quicken Loans, Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, JPMorgan Chase, and Bank of America discussed the qualified mortgage (QM) guidelines, which go into effect in January 2014.

JPMorgan Chase's $4 billion settlement with the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) reached late last week ""sets a relatively high bar"" for the 13 other banks still facing litigation from the federal agency, according to Fitch Ratings, which suggested Tuesday that some of the banks may need to increase their litigation reserves before settling. The $4 billion is about 12 percent of the original face value of the private-label mortgage-backed securities for which FHFA sought damages.

A 10-person panel of jurors is holding Bank of America and a mid-level manager liable for high-risk mortgages originated by Countrywide through a program known as Hustle and then sold off to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. After hearing arguments for four weeks in a Manhattan federal court, the jury returned a decision finding BofA liable on one charge of fraud in the civil case and finding Rebecca Mairone, former COO of one of Countrywide's lending divisions, liable on the one civil fraud charge she faced.

Bank of America exhibited healthy growth during the third quarter despite an expected weakening in its mortgage banking operations, according to the company's Q3 earnings report released Wednesday. BofA's third-quarter net income was $2.5 billion, a significant increase compared to $340 million reported for Q3 2012. Its consumer real estate services division, though, reported a net loss of $1 billion.

FBR Capital Markets on Wednesday raised its projection for new mortgage volume in the third quarter to $400-$420 billion, largely due to more activity from special servicers as larger banks relinquish market share. FBR anticipates strong performance from these specialty servicers, partly because of their ability to effectually mine acquired portfolios for refinancing opportunities.

Former Secretary of State Dr. Condoleezza Rice delivered the keynote address to conclude Monday night's program at the 10th annual Five Star Conference and Expo in Dallas. Dr. Rice took the stage after the unprecedented giveaway of 10 free homes to U.S. veterans and their families by the Military Warriors Support Foundation, four banks in attendance, and three event sponsors. The evening kicked off with the presentation of the 2013 Five Star Lifetime Achievement Award to Anthony T. Meola of Bank of America.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Justice Department filed separate complaints against Bank of America and certain subsidiaries for allegedly misrepresenting an $855 million offering of residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS), according to statements Tuesday.

CoreLogic, a provider of property information, analytics and services, announced the acquisition of Bank of America's flood zone determination and tax processing services assets and operating platforms. The Irvine, California-based company also announced it has entered into a services agreement to continue to provide the related services to Bank of America.

According to its quarterly earnings report, BofA pulled in approximately $4.0 billion in Q2, an increase of 63 percent over the $2.5 billion recorded for Q2 2012. Last quarter's results ""were driven by year-over-year improvements in net interest income, investment and brokerage income, investment banking fees, sales and trading revenue, equity investment income and credit quality as well as expense reductions,"" the bank said.