Risk management

Data breaches have become scarily commonplace. But even small financial institutions can take action to thwart hackers and minimize losses.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's experiments with selling credit risk to investors are a critical element of new plan to merge the two entities and move them out of conservatorship, but what form so-called credit risk transfers take could make a big difference.

Banc of California in Irvine has agreed to sell its wholly owned investment adviser subsidiary, The Palisades Group.

The number of misrepresentations in mortgage applications continued to decline in February, benefiting from lenders' increased spending on compliance, said First American Financial Corp.

Widows, divorcees and others who inherit or otherwise receive mortgaged property often have a hard time getting loans modified because there are too many hurdles to proving they own the property.

The government agency that guarantees securitizations of Federal Housing Administration-insured loans is experimenting with a pool type that consists only of modifications and reperforming loans.

Freddie Mac has obtained new insurance policies under its Agency Credit Insurance Structure program.

The Depository Trust & Clearing Corp. and Digital Asset Holdings are targeting the repurchase agreement market as the latest use case for a blockchain solution.

Bankers are fighting back against a plan that would allow Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to invest in low-income housing tax credits, arguing they are critical for meeting Community Reinvestment Act requirements.

Five policy heavy-hitters issued a proposal this week to merge Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac into a single government corporation as a way to move beyond the conservatorships of the two government-sponsored enterprises.