Secondary

Bank of America Corp.'s Countrywide unit was ordered to pay $1.3 billion in penalties for defective mortgage loans sold to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in the run-up to the 2008 financial crisis, a little more than half of what the federal government had requested.

In June the unpaid principal balance of Freddie Mac's total mortgage portfolio declined 2.6% from a year earlier, to $1.89 trillion, as total purchases shrank by almost half.

The Federal Housing Administration is revamping its loan review processes to correct faulty underwriting in an effort to lure institutions back to the program.

Jessie Litvak's March conviction was the first tied to the Public-Private Investment Program, an initiative that used TARP funds to spur investments in mortgage-backed securities after the 2008 financial crisis.

JPMorgan Chase may need to pay more than the $4.5 billion it offered to settle investor claims over faulty mortgages packaged into securities before the U.S. housing crash.

Court ruling gives hedge fund access to decision-making that led to Treasury collecting most of Fannie and Freddie's profits.

Lower rates of return would require insurers to charge higher premiums or stop covering loans to borrowers with lower credit scores. (You know, the ones the government wants to help?)

These investors complain they get little say or direct recompense in government settlements with big banks over misrepresentations of mortgage securities like the Department of Justice's $7 billion deal with Citigroup.

"The real question for me is should we be in the FHA business at all," the CEO says.

Ocwen Financial has repurchased approximately $72.3 million in stock from WL Ross & Co., a private-equity firm in New York.