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.
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With support from Bank of America, a nonprofit lender is trying to revitalize Detroit by offering no-down-payment mortgages at up to 150% of a home's assessed value. The idea is to provide borrowers with enough cash to buy run-down homes and fix them up, and if the program works as promised it could prove to be a template for lending in other cities like Baltimore that have large swaths of boarded-up homes.
May 13 -
A lot of bankers want on-balance-sheet mortgages declared ultrasafe under federal rules, and Wells Fargo executive Brad Blackwell explains why he thinks it's in their self-interest more than ever to live up to their arguments in favor of such a policy.
May 11 -
Ocwen Financial failed a test to determine whether it had notified borrowers of missing or incomplete documents for loan modifications in a timely manner, according to the national mortgage settlement monitor.
May 7 -
Banks want all loans held in portfolio to be classified as ultrasafe regardless of the underwriting characteristics or of a bank's asset size. But consumer activists and independent mortgage lenders are raising red flags ahead of possible Senate Banking action.
May 1 -
Ocwen Financial's shares jumped 19% to more than $10 a share as of late morning Friday, the day after it reported a first-quarter profit and highlighted an expansion into mortgage lending.
May 1 -
The troubled Atlanta mortgage servicer's independent auditor has again delayed its 2014 financial results and has raised questions about the firm's viability, CEO Ron Faris said after Ocwen reported a steep earnings drop.
April 30 -
With low rates tempting more home owners to refinance and relaxed down payment requirements spurring more home sales, bankers are more optimistic about mortgage lending than they have been in some time.
April 27 -
As banks have largely ceded the market for government-backed loans to nonbank lenders and servicers, it's fallen on Ginnie Mae to be sure that these nonbanks can meet their obligations to bondholders. It's a huge concern for President Ted Tozer, who says the company does not have the resources or manpower to examine these firms' finances.
April 22 -
Independent lenders rebut suggestions that they pose a greater risk to FHA (and hence taxpayers) than the large banks.
April 8 -
The shift in market composition is fueling concerns that if defaults rise, the Federal Housing Administration would have a harder time making lenders eat the losses on poorly underwritten loans.
April 6 -
Wells Fargo's quality-control procedures will play a key role in a closely watched mortgage-fraud case that could go to trial this summer. Federal prosecutors are using the bank's internal reports to allege its executives knew about deficient loans.
April 1 -
The Justice Department's Clifford White is putting all mortgage servicers on notice that they too will be punished if they flout bankruptcy rules.
March 25 -
Investors punished Nationstar Mortgage, sending shares down more than 10% Wednesday, down $3.15 a share to $27.96 a share, after the nonbank servicer announced a capital raise of roughly $500 million that will dilute existing shareholders.
March 25 -
Ocwen Financial is fighting back against a group of large bondholders that have accused the Atlanta mortgage servicer of improper servicing practices and an alleged breach of trust.
March 23 -
Ocwen Financial has delayed filing its 2014 results and announced the sale of more servicing rights. The embattled Atlanta servicer was initially expected to report fourth-quarter and full-year results on Monday.
March 20 -
The agency's interpretation of a Respa rule could put an end to the long-standing practice of mortgage lenders paying real estate agents and homebuilders to send business their way.
March 19 -
There is no guarantee that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will remain profitable in the years ahead, raising the possibility of further draws from Treasury, according to a report from the Federal Housing Finance Agency's inspector general.
March 18 -
An expected rush of refinancings of Federal Housing Administration loans could force some mortgage servicers to take writedowns in the first and second quarters, but they have more incentive than ever to keep borrowers in the FHA program instead of letting rivals lure away their customers.
March 13 -
Some newcomers to mortgage servicing did not hedge because hedging would have increased costs. Had rates moved up, the strategy would have paid off handsomely. Instead, it worked against them.
March 5 -
JPMorgan Chase has agreed to a $50.4 million settlement with the Justice Department for robo-signing documents sent to homeowners in bankruptcy and for related abuses.
March 3
