Origination

Hudson Valley Federal Credit Union, Albany, has appealed its challenge of the state's mortgage transfer tax - rejected by the lower court - arguing the federal credit union charter exempts it from all state taxes.

Treasury secretary Timothy Geithner wants federal regulators to move quickly in formulating new underwriting standards and disclosures for mortgages mandated under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.

The Federal Housing Administration said Monday that it has just $3.5 billion in cash and Treasury securities left in its 'capital reserve account' after transferring $9.8 billion to another account to cover possible losses on its loan portfolio.

HSBC Holdings said it plans to start "gently growing" its U.S. consumer finance business again, despite a quarter-on-quarter drop in profitability at the unit as the U.S. economy slowed.

A small private-label 'scratch and dent' securitization backed by government reverse mortgages appears to be the first deal of this type, and could pave the way for more reverse MBS deals in the struggling private-label market.

The BP oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico could reduce home values in the immediate region by as much as $3 billion over the next five years, according to a new report from CoreLogic.

The nation's mortgage insurance companies issued 65,792 notices of default in June, compared to 60,337 cures, ending a four-month streak where NODs lagged.

Edward DeMarco, acting director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, indicated in no uncertain terms at the recent SourceMedia Loss Mitigation Conference that the rules will be changing in the case of the government-sponsored enterprises and affordable housing.

The state of the U.S. banking system has "improved significantly" since the collapse of Lehman Brothers in the fall of 2008, but lending standards remain too tight, according to Federal Reserve Board chairman Ben Bernanke.

Where are the hot home building markets? According to a new report, new construction accounts for more than one-third of all closings in just seven somewhat surprising places where there is "an inordinately large emphasis" on new as opposed to used.