Economy

BOK Financial in Tulsa, Okla., reported higher second-quarter earnings as mortgage banking and loan growth offset an increase in expenses.

Fewer Americans signed contracts in June to buy previously owned homes, representing a pause in the housing market's momentum.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency is still not producing enough adequately-trained examiners necessary to monitor Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, according to an inspector general report.

A survey from Fannie Mae found that lenders use credit overlays in a limited manner, with some variations based on channel.

The price of loans that underlie commercial mortgage-backed securities fell from May to June, according to DebtX.

Flagstar Bank far outpaced expectations for its second-quarter results due to high loan sales and a strengthened portfolio from the subtraction of lower performing loans.

The Conference of State Bank Supervisors recently challenged college students to examine how community banks survived the financial crisis, and the contest highlighted innovative strategies used by Main Street banks such as Bank of American Fork in Utah.

The government-sponsored enterprises are buying conforming mortgages with as little as 3% down, but the new policy can't improve the housing market by itself.

A dispute over pay for the chief executive officers at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could put Barack Obama and House Republicans together in an unusual alignment against a housing official appointed by the president.

Home prices in 20 U.S. cities rose at a slower pace in the year ended May, keeping more properties within reach for prospective buyers.

Demand for apartment rentals continued to rise in the second quarter, while the use of debt financing declined, according to the National Multifamily Housing Council.

The California Housing Finance Agency has ended its use of a U.S. Treasury liquidity program that the agency had relied on since 2009.

Home prices rise 1.1% from April to May, according to Black Knight's Home Price Index report.

Signs of optimism are growing for acquisition, development and construction loans as banks hone strategies in a market transformed by the crisis.

The range of loan products offered by mortgage lenders and investors has been narrow since the housing crisis, but a few underserved niches are starting to make a comeback.

Housing markets are steadily improving nationwide, according to the latest Freddie Mac's Multi-Indicator Market Index.

The bankruptcy of Wingspan Portfolio Advisors epitomizes the existential crisis facing default servicing. This once-thriving sector of the mortgage industry now finds itself declining in lockstep with the drop in loan delinquencies and foreclosures.

Demand for home purchases rose in June although more slowly than in previous months, the online real estate brokerage Redfin said. The firm also projected a slowdown in the rise of home values.

The U.S. economy was stronger than expected, according to Fannie Mae's analysis of this year's second quarter.

Astoria Financial in Lake Success, N.Y., reported a 40% increase in second-quarter earnings as stronger fee income from mortgages helped it overcome a considerable shrinkage in loans.