Mortgages

Hope LoanPort has started new collaborative partnerships with several national organizations to collectively provide foreclosure-related fraud prevention assistance to homeowners.

FBC Mortgage, a unit of the investment bank Sterne Agee Group, is seeking loan referral partnerships with community banks. In a recent deal it also hired HomeBanc's mortgage personnel.

The Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act played a key role in helping underwater homeowners keep their homes after the crash. But it may also have unwittingly encouraged strategic default.

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.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could return $179 billion in profits to taxpayers over the next 10 years if they continue operating under federal conservatorship, according to White House budget analysts.

Keith Pedigo, who led efforts to modernize the Department of Veterans Affairs home loan guarantee program, has joined The Collingwood Group, founded by a former FHA commissioner.

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

USMI, successor to the Mortgage Insurance Cos. of America, says its top priority is to make sure whatever system replaces Fannie and Freddie uses at least as much private coverage.

Fannie Mae researchers attribute the sharp turn in perceptions to winter blues.

Over the last year several decisions and regulatory actions suggest industry standards are soon going to become the way of life for lenders.

As interest rates increase, prepayment speeds are falling precipitously, extending the maturities of mortgage-backed securities, especially the guaranteed variety. This trend is likely to cause future declines in MBS values.

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The housing sector is increasingly a drag on consumption and job creation. The fault lies not with the market but with ill-considered regulations and bank capital rules.

Zaio Corp., a Canadian company that tracks property values in the U.S., is in talks to acquire Axis Appraisal Management Solutions.

USMI, the new trade group being formed to replace the Mortgage Insurance Companies of America, will include all of the active carriers in the industry – except AIG's United Guaranty.

These companies have cut 21,500 employees since last summer.

HSBC Holdings and Wells Fargo agreed to settle lawsuits by mortgage holders who alleged they were forced to pay for property insurance at inflated rates.

In the judicial foreclosure states of Ohio and Pennsylvania, savings for various stakeholders could amount to at least $24 million annually, researchers at the Cleveland Fed estimate.

The Community Home Lenders Association is pointing to President Obama's recently released budget as proof that the Federal Housing Administration has leeway to lower premiums.

Carl Cole was sentenced for his role in a $30 million scam in the Bakersfield, Calif. market.