Finance

The government-sponsored enterprises' changes to their representations and warranties regulations could increase lending, or cause taxpayer losses related to GSE purchases of bad loans. Here's why advocates like the move.

Market participants are encouraged by the FHFA's move to ease repurchase requirements — which will likely result in a continued domination of the market by government agencies.

Remember when nobody wanted to touch U.S. subprime-mortgage debt? That's just a distant memory as they deliver some of the bond market's best returns.

Radian Group Inc. agreed to sell its bond guarantor to Assured Guaranty Ltd. for $810 million to free up capital as the company prepares for tighter oversight of mortgage insurance.

WASHINGTON — The Federal Housing Finance Agency said Monday it has approved the merger of the Federal Home Loan banks of Des Moines and Seattle, giving approval to the first voluntary combination in the history of the system.

The Carlyle Group and Warburg Pincus have agreed to acquire the global credit ratings agency DBRS.

Trustees for mortgage bond investors asked a New York court to approve a $1.13 billion settlement reached in April with Citigroup Inc. as the bank seeks to resolve liabilities for loans it packaged and sold in the run-up to the 2008 financial crisis.

Curt Culver has got a lot to keep him busy after he steps down as Mortgage Guaranty Insurance Corp.'s CEO, including serving on the board of his family's eponymous restaurant chain.

Mortgage companies must properly vet their third-party vendors to ensure that there is no litigation, fraud allegations, or other risky behavior that might create risk for them.

A former Jefferies & Co. managing director convicted of fraud for lying to customers about the price of mortgage-backed securities sued the AllianceBernstein Holding LP executive who reported him.

Fannie Mae veteran Karen Pallotta has joined Redwood Trust's board of directors. Pallotta's recent role at Fannie was as executive vice president of the single-family credit guaranty business, which she assumed during the height of the financial crisis.

Seer Capital Management is getting more bullish on U.S. commercial real estate. The $2.1 billion hedge fund firm, started by ex-Deutsche Bank AG executive Phillip Weingord, is planning a fund dedicated solely to buying the riskiest pieces of bonds backed by commercial properties, according to a presentation, a copy of which was obtained by Bloomberg News.

Yields on government-backed mortgage securities narrowed to the least relative to benchmark debt in more than two years, cushioning the blow of a slump in Treasuries for homebuyers.

The expiration of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Assistance program on Dec. 31 will have "repercussions" for the economy, according to Fitch Ratings.

Commercial and residential secondary-market platforms are under pressure to shift from loss-leader strategies to profitability as they enter their second year in a sector that's now more established and competitive.

JPMorgan Securities is arranging a $353 million RMBS securitizing 677 prime pre-crisis mortgages originated by Merrill Lynch Credit Corp.

Former Countrywide Financial Corp. executive Edward O'Donnell will get $57 million for his part in bringing a whistle-blower lawsuit against Bank of America Corp. which helped the U.S. force the lender to pay almost $16.7 billion to settle mortgage fraud charges.

Bank of America Corp. and US Bancorp were sued by the agency that oversees federal credit unions, which claimed the banks failed as trustees over securities backed by home mortgages that defaulted after the 2008 credit crisis.

Despite looser credit consumer demand has been on the decline, according to Fannie Mae's fourth-quarter Mortgage Lender Sentiment Survey.

Bill Ackman, founder of Pershing Square Capital Management, said he's added "meaningfully" to his bets on U.S. mortgage companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in the past two weeks.