Mortgages

Offering counseling to prospective homebuyers as part of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's duty to serve requirements could play a crucial role in helping lenders and nonprofits safely increase access to credit for underserved markets.

Even while FHFA finally embarked on a principal reduction plan, critics argued it was a dangerous idea that made Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac less safe while helping relatively few people.

Purchase mortgage activity, which normally picks up in March and April, is getting an extra boost from an improving economy, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported.

PNC Financial Services said its residential mortgage business lost $13 million in the first quarter due to its servicing portfolio hedging activities and lower loan sales income.

FHFA Director Mel Watt acknowledged that the principal reduction program may seem "too small and too late."

Total mortgage income at B of A was $433 million, down from $694 million a year ago as the strategy of putting loans on its balance sheet meaning the bank gets less gain-on-sale revenue.

The number of new foreclosure filings in the first quarter stood at their lowest level in more than nine years, RealtyTrac reported.

Mortgage rates for 30-year loans dropped to the lowest level in almost three years, aiding homebuyers during the housing market's busiest season for transactions.

Wells Fargo & Co. said first-quarter profit fell 5.9% as the firm set aside more money for soured energy loans and expenses increased.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's pending rule hinging on excessive document collection, when the focus should be on prohibitive privacy laws.

Mutual of Omaha Bank and an affiliate of PlainsCapital Bank in Dallas have partnered to sell residential mortgages.

The world knows JPMorgan's quarterly profits fell and that it flunked the living wills test. But underneath all that were solid first-quarter results in its core lending businesses that bode well for other banks at the start of earnings season.

Fannie Mae has priced a $1.15 billion credit-risk sharing transaction through its Connecticut Avenue Securities series.

Mortgage applications leaped 10% from a week ago on favorable conditions, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

The average profit on each loan originated in 2015 by independent mortgage banks and mortgage subsidiaries of chartered banks jumped by more than $400 from the previous year, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Fannie Mae is selling four large pools of nonperforming loans which have a total balance of $1.5 billion.

PulteGroup's founder and largest stockholder hired lawyers from a shareholder-activism practice, a sign that he'll increase pressure to get Richard Dugas to step down immediately as the homebuilder's chief executive officer.

Radian Guaranty's new reinsurance agreement will only cover single-premium mortgage insurance policies, a first for the company. These policies have higher capital requirements under the new secondary market standards.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau faced hostile questions from two judges during oral arguments before a federal appeals court Tuesday as it sought to argue the constitutionality of its single-director structure in a lawsuit brought by nonbank mortgage lender PHH Corp.

The number of seriously delinquent mortgages reached its lowest level in over eight years, helped by new job creation and higher wages, CoreLogic reported.