Minutes from the latest Federal Open Market Committee meeting show policymakers split on what type of accommodative monetary tools the central bank should use to try and kick-start the economy. The FOMC explored three options: an extension of its reinvestment program of maturing agency securities into long-term securities; a program to purchase long-term Treasury securities and sell the same amount in short-term securities; and the purchase of longer-term Treasury securities, which would increase the Fed’s balance sheet and supply of reserve balances.
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Re-opening the Federal Housing Administration property rehabilitation loan program to investors will not happen anytime soon, according to Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan.
With the leaves changing colors and fall upon us, we once again provide an update on recent Mortgagee Letters issued by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) concerning the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) program, including a significant policy change clarified by HUD in frequently asked questions on its website. Some of these changes relate to counseling issues and provide more form than substance. However, a substantive policy change relating to short payoffs promises to have dramatic implications for non-borrower spouses and heirs who wish to retain the collateral property following death of the borrower. Short Payoffs
A group of 16 senators sent a letter to regulators Tuesday, pressing for a plan to boost mortgage refinancing for more homeowners as soon as possible. Such a plan is being widely discussed admittedly, and now the lawmakers are ready to see some action.
U.S. commercial mortgage-backed securities losses fell last year, though uncertain economic conditions will cloud the outlook into 2012, according to a new study from Fitch Ratings. The average loss severity, or percentage of principal lost, decreased to 53.4% last year, down from 57% in 2009. Special servicers resolved 1,427 loans, almost four times as many as in 2009, according to Fitch. In CMBS deals, when performance on the commercial real estate collateral begins to sour, a special servicer is called in as arbitrator.
The biggest threat to the U.S. economic recovery may not be within its borders. Mortgage Bankers Association Chief Economist Jay Brinkmann said the stronger European countries such as Germany were unlikely to provide any more assistance for Greece, which would force it to default on its sovereign debt. “Greece will default. It’s just a matter of when,” Brinkmann said at the trade group’s annual convention in Chicago Tuesday. “It would be kind of like asking the Tea Party to bail out the California budget deficit. It’s just not going to happen.”
A speaker at the 2011 Mortgage Bankers Association Conference’s first general session walked onto the stage hefting a worn-out cardboard box with “Dodd-Frank Act” written in red letters on one side. He grabbed fistful after fistful of papers representing the thousands of regulations the bill has produced, and dropped them onto the stage, ultimately dumping out the entire […]
[Update 1: Corrects ownership interest between EquityLock and Equity Assurance; clarifies details of price protection plans.] The federal government can get rid of the more than 280,000 foreclosed homes on its books without having to sell them at massive discounts, according to a coalition of companies proposing to manage the disposition process.
Maverick Funding Group announced it’s launching a new reverse mortgage subsidiary under the Reverse Mortgage Network (RMN) brand. The new division opened its doors on Sept. 1, 2011, and is staffed with 22 former Wells Fargo reverse mortgage employees. The group will be based in Parsippany, NJ and is licensed in 22 states. “We are […]
Former executives of the now defunct United Commercial Bank face civil charges filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission for covering up losses on real estate loans. The SEC claims the banks’ management deliberately misled investors in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis.
The nation’s largest banks will begin using a software package from Lender Processing Services [stock LPS][/stock] in November that could help avoid a recurrence of the billions in representation and warranty claims currently outstanding from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
With much uncertainty remaining over the qualified residential mortgage standard, mortgage insurers are likely to face more headwinds going into 2012, according to a new report from Keefe, Bruyette & Woods analysts. Other areas of concern are the talks occurring between state attorneys general and mortgage servicers. Until a clear settlement is reached and clarity is achieved in the mortgage sector, KBW sees mortgage insurers sweating it out.