Kate Berry

Government officials are likely to lessen large banks' liabilities over how they handled delinquent Federal Housing Administration-insured mortgages as part of a settlement with the largest mortgage servicers, according to people briefed on the negotiations.

It's a sign of the dismal state of the housing market that a combined $14 billion bailout in the third quarter for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac no longer merits front-page headlines.

Bank of America Corp. reshuffled top retail bank executives yet again this week, according to an internal memo obtained by American Banker.

Zombie mortgages, or home loans that are worth more than the underlying collateral of the house, are impeding a recovery in home sales and in the broader economy, according to Barclays Capital chief economist Dean Maki.

MURRIETA, CALIF. — When Lesliane Bouchard took out a mortgage in 2008 to buy a home in Riverside County, she specifically requested a Federal Housing Administration loan. The 8th-grade English teacher and former foster parent thought a government-insured loan would offer the most protection in a falling housing market.

Lewis S. Ranieri, who helped pioneer conventional mortgage-backed securities in the early 1980s, is proposing a fix for the nation's housing mess.

A Florida court ruling could make it harder for mortgage servicers to use computer records as evidence for foreclosure without verifying the underlying information.

Mike Perry, who led IndyMac Bancorp until its collapse in 2008, is trying to rehabilitate his image, waging a public campaign rarely seen from an executive of a once high flying mortgage lender.

Some of the nation’s top banks including Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase – which also rank first and third, respectively in terms of housing receivables -- flunked Fannie Mae's latest test of mortgage servicers, but the GSE isn’t exactly saying that.

The New Jersey Supreme Court lifted a foreclosure ban on Ally Financial this week, removing the last state barrier for mortgage servicers to fully resume operations a year after their widespread "robosigning" procedures came to light.

Chicago's City Council published an ordinance late last week that would require banks, mortgage servicers and institutional investors to maintain vacant properties before the homes have gone through foreclosure.

Freddie Mac said it will not dramatically discount its backlog of foreclosed homes, arguing that such steep price cuts could destroy the housing market.

The state attorneys general have a secret weapon in their negotiations with the largest mortgage servicers: the results of a HUD investigation into the banks' robo-signing practices.

Some of the largest mortgage servicers are still fabricating documents that should have been signed years ago and submitting them as evidence to foreclose on homeowners.

The Government National Mortgage Association said late Friday that it is expanding the parameters for loans to be repurchased from its trusts to include those that have successfully completed a three-month trial payment period.

It will take less time than previously expected for the housing market to clear the supply of distressed homes on the market, but that so-called shadow inventory will still be around for nearly four years, Standard & Poor's Rating Services said last week.

It will take less time than previously expected for the housing market to clear the supply of distressed homes on the market, but that so-called shadow inventory will still be around for nearly four years, Standard & Poor's Rating Services said this week.

Ocwen Financial Corp. is again helping itself financially by cutting distressed homeowners an unusual break.The West Palm Beach, Fla., servicer has expanded a program offering shared appreciation loan modifications, in which the mortgage holder reduces a borrower’s principal in exchange for a percentage of future appreciation. The idea has been around for some time. Most servicers have failed to persuade the largest banks and investors to reduce principal because of the potential for fraud and moral hazard.

Ocwen Financial Corp. is again helping itself financially by cutting distressed homeowners an unusual break.

Foreclosure doesn't usually mean coming down in the world, economists at the Federal Reserve have found.