Compliance & Regulation

The Federal Housing Administration will require lenders to submit full electronic appraisals for the mortgages it insures — a risk management practice Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac adopted two years ago.

Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., unveiled a new plan Thursday to overhaul the housing finance market, entering what's becoming a crowded field of proposals to restructure the mortgage system.

Bank of America Corp. agreed to pay about $9.5 billion to settle government claims tied to faulty mortgages.

The largest landlords of single-family homes have formed an industry trade group at a time their impact on housing and finance faces scrutiny.

With more reliable loan data, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would have greater confidence that borrowers would not default. In return, lenders would receive a juicy carrot: fewer buyback requests.

HSBC Holdings was accused of targeting minority borrowers in Chicago with high-cost mortgage loans as Cook County, Ill., followed other local governments in trying to hold subprime lenders liable for urban blight.

There is growing evidence that Washington is making the same mistake with respect to the housing and mortgage markets.

First mortgages increased 2.8% from a year earlier in February, the largest year-over-year uptick since September 2008.

Sen. Heidi Heitkamp is striking an optimistic tone for mortgage finance reform, saying she’s hopeful that a Senate Banking Committee plan to overhaul the market could make it to the chamber floor for a vote this year.

Farmers have been benefiting from steady increases in commodity prices in recent years, partly driven by extreme weather. But the underpinnings of that growth seem to be on the wane.