Freddie Mac has agreed to pay a $50 million civil money penalty to settle government charges that the giant mortgage company engaged in securities fraud from 1998 to 2002.The Securities and Exchange Commission alleged that the publicly traded government-sponsored enterprise manipulated earnings and engaged in transactions to nullify the effects of a new hedge accounting rule. This resulted in the misrepresentation of the company's financial results and forced Freddie to restate its earnings for 2000, 2001, and 2002. "We take these charges seriously, and that's why the Freddie Mac of today is a very different company from the Freddie Mac of the past," said Freddie Mac chairman and chief executive Richard Syron. As part of the settlement, four former Freddie executives settled charges of negligent conduct without admitting or denying the charges (see item below). Freddie Mac can be found online at http://www.freddiemac.com.
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The increasing frequency and severity of droughts was top of mind for panelists at AmeriCatalyst's "Going to Extremes" conference Thursday.
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In a Senate hearing, Director Sandra Thompson said a raise to the required income threshold provided to affordable housing was on the table, while housing regulators also faced questions related to property insurance hikes and title insurance waivers.
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The nonpayment rate for non-qualified mortgages is up 21 basis points from February and 134 basis points from March 2023, Morningstar DBRS said.
April 18 -
The government mortgage-bond guarantor will require additional information on foreclosure prevention actions, and retire some forbearance reporting.
April 18 -
But views are split, at least in the near-term on whether rising mortgage rates are holding back the Spring home purchase season.
April 18 -
The top five producers had an average dollar volume of FHA loans of more than $50 million in 2023.
April 18