Secondary

Six years after a global financial crisis exacerbated by the lack of transparency in the market for U.S. mortgage debt, regulators are planning only a small step toward offering the public more information on trading.

Profits from originating mortgages dipped during the third quarter, with independent mortgage banks and mortgage subsidiaries of banks reporting an average gain of $897, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Principal reductions for underwater borrowers would cost approximately $89 billion, according to Black Knight.

Mortgage rates for 30-year loans fell for a fourth week, reducing borrowing costs to the lowest level in a year and a half.

In the nascent bond market where U.S. government-backed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have insured themselves against losses on $383 billion of home loans, strains are starting to emerge.

The Federal Housing Finance Administration has advised private mortgage insurers that it will delay the release of revised capital standards.

A controversial legal theory on discrimination threatens to disrupt consumer lending and poses a potential liability for anyone securitizing these loans.

Interest rates for conforming mortgages have fallen to their lowest level in over a year and a half, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

From Biblical times to the present, fraud has been the key factor in all financial crises. But there is one financial instrument that, if used correctly, can bring equilibrium to fraud-impacted markets.

Nonbank mortgage servicers are already in the crosshairs of regulators. Now they will face even more scrutiny from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.