Kate Berry has covered the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau for American Banker since 2016. She joined the publication in 2006 covering mortgage lending and the financial crisis. Berry also has covered big banks including Bank of America, J.P. Morgan Chase and Wells Fargo. She has won five awards from the Society of American Business Writers and Editors, and has worked at several news organizations including the Orange County Register, the Los Angeles Business Journal and the Associated Press. Berry began her career as a clerk at the New York Times.
-
The nation's largest mortgage lender is exploring the sale of some servicing rights because the market is flush with potential buyers and it sees little opportunity to cross-sell many servicing clients.
September 10 -
The federal regulator of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is seeking at least $6 billion from JPMorgan Chase to settle a lawsuit over soured mortgage bonds sold to the government-sponsored enterprises.
August 28 -
The concern is that vendors are overbilling borrowers and servicers are not properly monitoring the vendors.
August 27 -
Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase said that they have fulfilled the requirements of the $25 billion national mortgage settlement.
August 23 -
Fannie Mae was able to extract an $11.6 billion mortgage-repurchase settlement from Bank of America this year because the bank needed Fannie's approval to sell billions of dollars in servicing rights.
August 22 -
Applications for adjustable-rate loans now make up 6% of mortgage loan requests, up from 3% at the beginning of the year, though still well below the 32% peak in 2004.
August 19 -
The cost of doing business with the Federal Housing Administration could skyrocket if the agency adopts a new method for calculating lenders' liability for poorly underwritten loans that default.
August 13 -
Over the past few months, Fannie has raised the prices it pays to community-based lenders for mortgage loans.
August 8 -
Like large banks, community banks are facing a steep decline in mortgage income over the next few quarters as the refinancing boom that has largely driven profits in recent years finally comes to an end.
August 5 -
Richmond, Calif., has offered to purchase home loans from mortgage servicers and trustees and as part of its plan to restructure the underwater loans or potentially seize them through eminent domain.
July 31 -
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's crackdown on Castle & Cooke Mortgage is the first in what could be a string of enforcement actions against mortgage originators for allegedly failing to follow new loan officer compensation rules.
July 29 -
Distressed homeowners are redefaulting in droves on loan modifications received through a government program.
July 24 -
Wells Fargo and Citigroup are laying off hundreds of employees at their mortgage units.
July 22 -
Rising home prices, fewer delinquencies and a dearth of claims by large bank lenders are helping improve the financial health of the Federal Housing Administration.
July 17 -
Higher fees charged by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to bring private capital back in the mortgage market might actually backfire by reducing borrower demand for home loans.
July 16 -
Issuers are adding another layer of protection at a time when lawmakers are examining how to wind down Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and bring private capital back into the mortgage market.
June 27 -
No one knows how many borrowers have ended up in foreclosure as a result of the continued use of dual tracking.
June 26 -
Freddie Mac plans to eliminate a $7,500 annual low-activity fee that has met with a backlash among rural banks that sell a small number of loans each year to the government-sponsored enterprise.
June 20 -
Housing Secretary Shaun Donovan and four state attorneys general vowed to hold banks to the terms of the settlement while saying more institutions were likely to shortly join their ranks.
June 19 -
The end of the refinancing boom is likely to prompt to a wave of consolidation among mortgage lenders because there is simply not enough purchase business to go around.
June 12
