Secondary

In the current tough mortgage environment, some lenders are willing to take the risk of lending to foreign nationals. The loans don't conform to regulations that took effect in January and typically are held on banks' balance sheets.

The Senate Banking Committee has forged a strong bipartisan agreement to reform the housing finance market, but how—and whether—that effort gets picked up in 2015 is still very much in question.

Bank of America Corp.'s Countrywide unit and the U.S. sparred in court over whether the bank owes as much as $2 billion—or nothing—for selling thousands of defective mortgage loans to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Lawyers for Bank of America Corp.'s Countrywide unit and the U.S. government returned to a federal courtroom today to spar over whether the bank owes nothing—or as much as $2 billion—for selling thousands of defective mortgage loans to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Senate Banking Committee leaders are proposing to capitalize a new mortgage cooperative with a government loan to ensure small and even regional lenders can sell their loans for cash.

Commercial and multifamily mortgage debt outstanding reached a record high during the fourth quarter, erasing the declines caused by the recession.

Mortgage bankers welcomed the Johnson-Crapo housing finance reform proposal as a start, but cautioned they had no illusions it will on its own bring private capital back to their industry.

Holders of residential mortgage-backed securities are planning to communicate with trustees and master servicers about Ocwen Financial’s practices, according to the Association of Mortgage Investors.

Sens. Tim Johnson, chairman of the Banking Committee, and Mike Crapo, the top Republican, laid out a preliminary bipartisan agreement on housing finance reform after months of deliberation.

The bank likely was worried about dealing with sellers who did not have the net worth to buy back loans.