Economy

FICO discards incomplete and old credit history information for a good reason. The solution to today's credit-access problems is not to use this unreliable data but to turn to alternative data such as the payment of everyday bills.

Amalgamated Bank in New York has reached an agreement with a real estate firm to provide construction loans for apartment and condo buildings in New York.

Barclays is ending trading in $700 billion of U.S. mortgage bonds that were issued before the financial crisis.

Deutsche Bank priced most tranches issued from its $1 billion commercial mortgage securitization wider than the last conduit issued, according to a regulatory filing.

Discover Financial Services will exit the residential mortgage-origination business that it acquired in 2012.

The legal challenge to the government's bailout of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is not necessarily a slam-dunk victory, despite an apparent favorable legal ruling in a similar case, analysts at KBW said.

Access to credit is too tight. New credit-scoring models could increase the number of eligible borrowers in the U.S. without weakening todays underwriting parameters.

One mortgage executive says there is a continuing need for lenders, real estate agents, consumer groups and government to educate consumers to their options when it comes to financing a home.

Almost seven years after the financial crisis, bond investors are rediscovering their appetite for new debt tied to the housing market.

The homebuilding industry enjoyed its best two months in more than seven years as it headed into its busiest season, even as it began work on fewer houses last month following an April surge.

Casey Crawford went from playing on a team that won the Super Bowl to running a mortgage company that he expects to originate almost $8 billion in U.S. home loans this year.

U.S. Bancorp has contributed $75,000 to the production of a video series that discusses the importance of having access to safe, stable housing.

The decline in foreclosures and short sales is contributing to the dearth of housing inventory, complicating the prospects for home buyers feeling the pinch of tight credit and lenders that need purchase mortgages to supplant refinancing once interest rates rise.

Freddie Mac is planning its fifth risk-sharing transaction of the year.

RealtyMogul.com said it reached agreements for a total of $250 million in capital, which it will use to offer new products.

Down payments decreased in size in the first quarter, as mortgage lenders loosen underwriting requirements in the quest for higher volume, LendingTree said in a report.

Southern California homebuilders Standard Pacific and Ryland Group said they agreed to merge, creating a company with about 74,000 home sites and resources to expand.

A new Department of Housing and Urban Development policy will make it easier for servicers to transfer certain reverse mortgages back to HUD instead of foreclosing on widowed nonborrower spouses.

Transactions involving residential mortgage-backed securities should include a manager to improve accountability, Fitch Ratings has recommended.

Life insurers increased their rate of investment in mortgages in 2014, according to a Fitch Ratings report.