Investments

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac surged to four-month highs on speculation lawsuits involving the mortgage giants have progressed in a way that favors shareholders.

Annaly Capital Management, the largest real estate investment trust that buys mortgage debt, agreed to purchase Hatteras Financial Corp. for $1.5 billion as the company expands its property business.

Eight years after subprime mortgages all but disappeared, U.S. buyers with bad credit can still own homes.

With U.S. mortgage rates near their lowest level since April and showing signs of falling further, some lenders are preparing for another refinancing wave, an unexpected development after the Federal Reserve began hiking short-term interest rates in December.

Market volatility and new regulatory burdens are thinning the ranks of commercial mortgage lenders that underwrite loans for securitizations. Activity is slowing down as a result, and it is unclear if banks and insurers will fill the void, especially outside the largest cities.

Richard Jennings, who founded and led the mortgage-finance group at Goldman, Sachs & Co. and went on to start his own real estate investment-banking firm, has died. He was 72.

The mortgage servicer said it has received a letter from the Securities and Exchange Commission regarding its fees for handling distressed loans and properties.

The market for U.S. mortgage securities without government backing, virtually frozen since the financial crisis that it helped trigger, may get a boost from some of the biggest bond funds on Wall Street.

Radian Group's Clayton Holdings hired Brian Wornow to be senior managing director of lending services as the mortgage-information unit seeks more business from Wall Street firms.

JPMorgan Chase agreed to pay almost $1 billion to resolve claims by Ambac Financial that it was duped into insuring mortgage bonds backed by shoddy loans, clearing the way for approval of a larger settlement over similar allegations.

The first three transactions of U.S. prime jumbo residential mortgage bonds issued since the financial crisis have been called without any loss, Fitch Ratings reported Monday.

Property Assessed Clean Energy loans have been available in Florida since 2010, but lending, as well as securitization of these loans, has lagged far behind California largely due to a series of lawsuits challenging the program's validity.

The Connecticut Housing Finance Authority issued more than $400 million of bonds in 2015 to finance mortgages at below-market interest rates for low- to moderate-income first-time homebuyers, according to authority officials.

Analysts at Kroll Bond Rating Agency predict issuance in bonds backed by commercial mortgages could hit $125 billion next year, even with borrowing costs rising as interest rates go up.

When news broke in October that New York's Stuyvesant Town was being sold, observers expected the $3 billion loan on the property to be paid off without a glitch.

JPMorgan is sounding the alarm about bank capital rules on the horizon that could nearly wipe out secondary trading in most kinds of asset-backed securities.

Commercial mortgage underwriting standards have already loosened dramatically this year, but it seems that some borrowers are still trying to get away with a little more.

Greystone has secured $88.6 million in financing to rehabilitate 20 multifamily properties for low-income residents in Tennessee.

California’s Richmond Community Foundation will pursue a new social impact bond vehicle with a $3 million revenue bond private placement it hopes to close next month with the local Mechanics Bank.

California priced $446 million in veterans' general obligation bonds last week in a combined refunding/new money sale.