Recently added articles from Mortgage Banking:
Rewriting the rules.(Portfolio)(Editorial)
Sep 01, 2008; Reilley Hewitt, Janet ... In late July, President Bush signed a bill that will usher in sweeping changes to the mortgage lending landscape. There are so many components to the newly enacted Housing and Economic Recovery Act that it is likely to have repercussions in the mortgage lending business for years to come ....
Major housing bill becomes law.(Briefing Book)
Sep 01, 2008 ... Along-awaited major housing bill that would create a new regulator for the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs), as well as modernize the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) and provide funding for FHA refinancings, passed both houses of Congress and was signed by President Bush in ...
Courson tapped to succeed Kempner at MBA.(Briefing Book)(Mortgage Bankers Association)
Sep 01, 2008 ... The Mortgage Bankers Association announced in mid-July a change in leadership for 2009, with President and Chief Executive Officer Jonathan L. Kempner announcing he would step down at year's end to be replaced by former MBA Chairman John A. Courson. Kempner will officially step ...
HUD settles RESPA kickback charges with hazard-reporting company.(Briefing Book)(Department of Housing and Urban Development )
Sep 01, 2008 ... A California-based hazard-reporting company and three real estate brokerages will pay a combined $35 million--much of it to California consumers who purchased hazard-disclosure reports dating back to 1996-to settle charges the firms violated the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act ...
Moody's cuts Wachovia's ratings; outlook negative.(Briefing Book)
Sep 01, 2008 ... New York--based Moody's Investors Service announced in July it had downgraded its ratings both on Wachovia Corporation and on its lead bank, Wachovia Bank NA, both based in Charlotte, North Carolina. Moody's downgraded Wachovia Corporation senior debt to A1 from Aa3, and on ...
NAR: Foreign home-buyers a 'significant share' of business.(Briefing Book)(National Association of Realtors)
Sep 01, 2008 ... International real estate purchases in the United States continued to account for a significant share of business for many real estate agents over the last year, according to the National Association of Realtors[R] (NAR), Chicago. The 2008 National Association of Realtors ...
Freddie Mac doubles down on foreclosure-prevention incentives.(Briefing Book)(Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp.)
Sep 01, 2008 ... Freddie Mac announced in late July it has informed mortgage servicers that it was doubling the amount of money Freddie pays for each workout that keeps a delinquent borrower with a Freddie Mac-owned mortgage out of foreclosure. Furthermore, Freddie Mac will start reimbursing ...
Q2 homeownership rate inches up.(Briefing Book)(Brief article)
Sep 01, 2008 ... The percentage of Americans owning their own homes rose marginally during the second quarter of 2008, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. At 68.1 percent, the second quarter's homeownership rate rose from the first quarter's rate of 67.8 percent but was down slightly from the ...
Ginnie Mae tops $3 billion in jumbo loan securitizations in four months.(Briefing Book)(Brief article)
Sep 01, 2008 ... Ginnie Mae announced in July that securitization of FHA jumbo loans soared past $2.9 billion in only four months of issuance--the highest rate of issuance among all agency mortgage-backed securities (MBS) issuers. In April, Ginnie Mae demonstrated its support for the ...
The Ticker.(Briefing Book)(Statistical table)
Sep 01, 2008 ... <Pre> CompanyTicker PricePrice 52-Week 52-WeekSymbol CloseClose High Low 7/31/08 6/30/08 Fannie Mae FNM 11.5019.5170.57 6.68 Freddie MacFRE ...
Message from the chairman.
Sep 01, 2008; Quinn, Kieran ... As you may already know, on July 22, Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) President and Chief Executive Officer Jonathan L. Kempner announced that he would be stepping down from his role at MBA on Dec. 31, 2008. As a close colleague and friend of Jonathan's, I would like to thank him for ...
No more cloudy days.(Executive Suite)
Sep 01, 2008; Sheehy, Pat ... Big fans of the legendary rock band The Eagles surely have heard the group's new song and lyrics, "these cloudy days make you want to cry." Those of us in the mortgage industry can certainly relate. Our days have been more than tough. My colleagues, who believe the mortgage industry is ...
Letters.(Letter to the editor)
Sep 01, 2008; Murin, Joseph J. ... DEAR EDITOR: The June issue of Mortgage Banking contained an article entitled, "Fraud, Mortgage-Backed Securities and Ginnie Mae." The piece raised questions about Ginnie Mae's practice of pooling not-yet-insured loans, which we would like to clarify. Since 1970, ...
September-November 2008.(Calendar of Events)(Calendar)
Sep 01, 2008 ... <Pre> September 2008 Sept. 4-5 Iowa Mortgage Association Annual Convention, Des Moines,Iowa [www.iowama.org/calendar.cfm] Sept. 4-6 Mortgage Bankers Association of the Carolinas (MBAC) AnnualConvention, Hilton Head Island, South Carolina...
Barry Wides--OCC's deputy comptroller for community affairs.(Newsmaker)(Interview)
Sep 01, 2008; Wisniowski, Charles ... Barry Wides is the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's (OCC's) deputy comptroller for community affairs, where he leads a department of community development professionals located in Washington, D.C., and the OCC districts. The community affairs staff is responsible for ...
Presidential profiles--McCain.(Cover Report: Legislative / Regulatory)
Sep 01, 2008; White, Walter ... Trying to anticipate the housing agenda of the next administration is certainly not the stuff of science. Instead, it is an exercise that starts with an examination of records, current market conditions and historical perspective. At best, you can catch a glimpse of a candidate's overall ...
State of affairs; A hectic year of mortgage legislative activity in the states has ended with some solid accomplishments. But lawmakers are expected to again take up a slew of mortgage industry measures in 2009.(Cover Report: Legislative / Regulatory)
Sep 01, 2008; DeMuth, Jerry ... Mortgage-related legislation at the state level is becoming more prevalent and broader in response to nonprime lending problems, rate resets, prepayment charges, delinquencies, foreclosures and other mortgage- and housing-related challenges. * "We've always had legislation out ...
The origins of a housing credit bubble; Monday-morning quarterbacks are finding plenty to blame for the creation of a housing credit bubble that has dramatically brust. While there's a growing laundry list of causes, there appears to be emerging consensus on some primary drivers, such as monetary ploicy and the unchecked expansion of mortgage credit by non-banks. This two-part series examines the details.(Cover Report: Legislative / Regulatory)
Sep 01, 2008; Stowe England, Robert ... As bubbles go, this one is probably going to be a modern record-breaker. * The worldwide toll in write-downs at banks and financial institutions for the housing credit bubble in the United States is now expected to top out at $565 billion, according to the Washington, ...
The Treasury blueprint; Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson started a conversation in Washington when he proposed a sweeping blueprint for revamping regulation of U.S. financial services providers. Winners and losers are lining up on both sides of the proposal.(Cover Report: Legislative / Regulatory)
Sep 01, 2008; Milligan, Jack ... John D. "Jerry" Hawke Jr. is an old Washington hand who understands how the country's financial services industry is regulated as well as anyone. Now a partner at the Washington, D.C.-based law firm of Arnold & Porter LLP, Hawke previously was comptroller of the currency--the agency that ...
Buyback prevention; Buyback demands from investors have cost the mortgage industry real money in recent times. Careful attention to compliance prior to funding can prevent some of these costly problems..(Cover Report: Legislative / Regulatory)
Sep 01, 2008; Ryan, Leonard ... It has been nearly two years since the mortgage industry began struggling with liquidity, default and credit problems. In that time, home prices and loan application volumes have dropped significantly. The National Association of Realtors[R] (NAR), Chicago, reported in July that the median ...