Secondary

Farm banks have enjoyed several years of robust loan volume, but declining farm income has them on guard for increases in delinquencies and more eager to use government-guarantee programs.

Mortgage rates declined for a second week, sending costs for 30-year loans to their lowest in more than a month as the busiest homebuying season gets under way.

It's was anything but a winter wonderland for the housing market, according to a report by Freddie Mac.

The latest securitization of reperforming residential mortgages offers investors less protection against future losses than the previous deal, and has earned correspondingly lower safety scores from Fitch Ratings.

Investors punished Nationstar Mortgage, sending shares down more than 10% Wednesday, down $3.15 a share to $27.96 a share, after the nonbank servicer announced a capital raise of roughly $500 million that will dilute existing shareholders.

The leader of the Senate Banking Committee said he'd rather leave Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in U.S. conservatorship than pass a bill that includes explicit government support for the housing market.

With mortgage giant Freddie Mac finding increased demand this week in the nascent market for its risk-sharing securities, competitor Fannie Mae said it was taking steps to draw more buyers for its own notes.

MGIC Investment Corp. former Chief Executive Officer Curt Culver, who presided over an 85% stock-price decline during his tenure, received compensation valued at about $8 million for his last full year in the top job.

Commercial mortgage-backed securities servicers have held on to real-estate owned properties for longer than usual, which could lead to a reversal in the declines in liquidations seen recently, according to a Fitch Ratings study.

There are a lot of consumer, investor and regulatory complaints about how the nonbank servicing firm does business, but Morgan Stanley researchers offer reasons why certain investors and borrowers could benefit from sticking with Ocwen.