Risk

The business of bundling riskier U.S. mortgages into bonds without government backing is gearing up for a comeback. Just don't call it subprime.

At a hearing Tuesday, GOP lawmakers hammered FHFA Director Mel Watt for four hours over his recent decisions to allow Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to buy loans with lower downpayments and provide money to two affordable housing trust funds.

The Supreme Court gave borrowers the path to file a rescission notice without going to court, but experts expect more banks to initiate legal proceedings to stop rescissions they see as frivolous.

Recently disclosed emails and documents give the clearest evidence yet that high-level banking officials pushed subprime mortgage loans knowing some Detroiters couldn't pay them — helping spark a foreclosure crisis that devastated the city during the Great Recession.

Ocwen Financial Corp., one of the biggest U.S. mortgage servicers, rejected as "groundless" accusations by an investor group that the company’s practices created defaults on home-loan bonds backed by debt it oversees.

Freddie Mac is selling $410 million of deeply delinquent U.S. home loans in its second sale of the debt.

BlueMountain Capital Management is claiming that "misconduct" by Ocwen Financial Corp. triggered a default in securities issued by an affiliate of the mortgage servicer.

The consumer bureau and Maryland's AG allege the loan officers received consumer data and other services in return for business referrals.

Top housing economists don’t think an Oil Patch slowdown will result in a weaker national housing market.

Standard & Poor's is close to an agreement to pay $1.4 billion to settle claims by the Justice Department and states attorneys general that it inflated subprime mortgage-bond ratings before the financial crisis, according to two people with knowledge of the talks.

Standard & Poor’s agreed to a one-year suspension from rating certain commercial mortgage bonds and $80 million in fines to settle charges with the Securities and Exchange Commission and the New York and Massachusetts Attorneys Generals offices.

Mortgage brokers and nonbank lenders who operate outside the reach of federal bank regulators are thriving in Canada after the country introduced a half-dozen mortgage rules since 2008 to cool its soaring home prices.

The Ocwen spinoff Altisource Portfolio Services delivered notices to more than 800 employees and hundreds of contractors this week as part of the company's scramble to reassure investors.

Commercial mortgage-backed security performance could come under further strain this year, as the underwriting on the underlying commercial mortgages continues to loosen. Here are eight indicators to consider in sizing up the CMBS market this year.

Facing the prospect of losing its license in California, Ocwen would be wise to settle its probe by state regulators in a timely manner, observers said. If it doesn't, the mortgage servicer could lose significant revenue and might even face a cash crunch.

The American Land Title Association released a statement pushing back against a new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau initiative.

The Supreme Court has denied an appeal from several banks regarding a lawsuit filed by NCUA concerning the sale of mortgage-backed securities that contributed to the failure of two corporate credit unions more than seven years ago.

Wells Fargo saw more of its origination volume come from refinancings, while JPMorgan Chase continues to rebuild its correspondent channel, the banks said in their fourth-quarter results.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have boosted risk-sharing transactions in the past year by more than fourfold, according to Fitch Ratings.

Fears that lower Federal Housing Administration premiums will negatively affect private mortgage insurance firms are overblown. If anything, the plan should be a modest positive for the overall housing market.