Secondary

Strong home sales are boosting originations of Federal Housing Administration loans and opening the door for first-time buyers — developments that could portend the mortgage insurance agency receiving a positive report from auditors this fall.

Mortgage rates fell as investors purchased more 10-year Treasury bonds after the Federal Open Market Committee decided to leave short-term rates unchanged.

The Department of Justice wants banks to more fully cooperate with civil investigations. Companies now are expected to "materially assist" the agency in providing documents, access to witnesses and even inculpatory documentary evidence such as emails and text messages.

Eight years after high-risk, deceptive lending practices precipitated a near-meltdown of the global economy, we learned that at least 5,300 Wells Fargo employees created 2 million sham accounts that its customers apparently did not want, need or understand.

Deutsche Bank isn't the only lender wrestling with the U.S. to resolve an investigation into toxic mortgage bonds: Credit Suisse Group and Barclays are also each in settlement talks with the Justice Department.

Commercial mortgage loans held by life insurance companies provided lower returns in the second quarter than the previous one, according to the LifeComps Commercial Mortgage Loan Index.

Low interest rates are keeping the housing market strong even as affordability keeps declining, according to Freddie Mac.

Royal Bank of Scotland Group agreed to pay $1.1 billion to settle the first of three major U.S. mortgage-backed securities probes the bank must overcome before it can resume dividend payments.

Fannie Mae has awarded its latest "community impact" pool of nonperforming loans to an affiliate of the nonprofit New Jersey Community Capital.

Banks are to blame for delaying resolutions of U.S. mortgage investigations by failing to cooperate, a top Justice Department official said.