Kate Berry

California Gov. Jerry Brown this week signed three new laws that are part of the Homeowner Bill of Rights aimed at increasing prosecutions for mortgage-related crimes.

Consumer advocates filed a discrimination complaint this week alleging that Bank of America violated fair-housing laws by failing to appropriately maintain and market foreclosed properties in minority neighborhoods.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau opposes a proposed 20% downpayment requirement for low-risk mortgages.

Astoria Financial has already originated more multifamily and commercial real estate loans this year than it did in all of last year.

A prominent consumer group is bothered that the top five mortgage servicers are stressing short sales under the $25 billion national mortgage settlement when the goal is to keep borrowers in their homes.

A controversial proposal by three California municipalities to seize underwater mortgages through eminent domain could face significant legal challenges because state law prohibits local governments from taking property and conveying it to a private company.

Chase, Bank of America, Citigroup, Wells Fargo and Ally Financial have been sending mass mailings this year to thousands of distressed homeowners offering refinances, principal reductions and other forms of relief to comply with the national mortgage settlement signed in March.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s flat fee proposal met resistance from mortgage brokers, loan officers, and consumers who pay discount points.

San Bernardino County unanimously passed a resolution authorizing its staff to create a request for proposal, a formal mechanism for considering plans to address the glut of underwater borrowers.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's proposed new rules for mortgage servicing were written primarily for the largest players, but it is the small servicers that will have the hardest time absorbing the costs.

Small servicers that already operate on razor-thin margins would essentially be subject to many of the same requirements that came out of the $25 billion mortgage settlement struck early this year between regulators and the five largest bank servicers.

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel on Tuesday shot down the idea of using eminent domain to seize underwater mortgages.

Fewer large banks are willing to purchase their loans, so the mortgage banks are throwing themselves into the arms of Ginnie Mae.

The FHA has embarked on a desperate attempt to raise capital through settlements with major banks, sales of severely delinquent loans and higher insurance premiums on new borrowers.

Mortgage refinancings once again drove banks' profits last quarter and, with interest rates at record lows, most industry experts expect the trend to continue at least through the end of the year.

Fannie Mae this week opened a mortgage help center in Ontario, Calif., and now operates a dozen centers nationwide that provide free education and counseling servicers to struggling homeowners.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has taken its first civil action, suing and effectively stopping business at a Los Angeles law firm that charged homeowners for loan modifications that allegedly never happened.

Chicago is the latest city to pass a resolution to hold hearings on whether to use eminent domain to seize underwater mortgages from private investors.

Several large and regional banks have disclosed what their capital ratios would look like if Basel III were in effect now and early results show that First Horizon National, Huntington Bancshares, SunTrust Banks and TCF Financial would take the biggest capital hits if they do not take steps to change their asset mix.

San Bernardino County's proposal to use eminent domain to seize, and then restructure, underwater private-label mortgages could hurt Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Home Loan Banks.