Four private mortgage insurance companies this week agreed to pay $15.4 million in penalties to resolve government charges that they improperly paid kickbacks to mortgage lenders for business referrals in violation of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau filed complaints and proposed consent orders against Genworth Mortgage Insurance Corp., Radian Guaranty, Inc., Mortgage Guaranty Insurance Corp. and United Guaranty Corp. for the alleged illegal business practices that contributed to the financial crisis. The CFPB said the MI companies engaged in illegal ...
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s rural housing program finances only modest homes for low- to moderate-income borrowers, not properties for millionaires as alleged in a news account published by Reuters, according to the program’s top executive. “USDA continues to operate its housing programs under the law and in accordance with the will of Congress,” said Tammye Trevino, administrator of the USDA Rural Housing Programs. Trevino disputed the Reuters report, which claimed that the USDA had guaranteed loans to “dozens of millionaires” by backing at least 500 loans of $500,000 or more, including more than ...
Ginnie Mae issuance fell in the first quarter of 2013 but was easily offset by significant gains from a year ago, according to Inside FHA Lending’s analysis of FHA data. Mortgage-backed securities production at the government facility dropped 5.1 percent to $104.1 billion in the first quarter but increased 28.6 percent year-over-year , which was more than enough for an offset. The securities were backed mostly by FHA and VA loans with a combined total of $99.33 billion. Federally guaranteed rural housing loans totaling $4.84 billion were also in the mix. Wells Fargo and Chase Home Finance led the Ginnie Mae market with a combined ... [1 chart]
Consumer complaints about mortgage foreclosure relief and debt management services providers were fewer in 2012 than in 2011, according to the Federal Trade Commission. In the FTC’s annual report listing the top consumer complaints for the past year, mortgage foreclosure relief and debt management dropped to #15 (33,791 complaints) in 2012 from #13 (38,140 complaints) in 2011. For the 13th year in a row, identity theft complaints topped the list, representing 18 percent of all consumer complaints. Complaints about real-estate fraud remained at #25, although fewer consumers complained about it last year (8,468) compared to ...
Despite its efforts to enhance its hiring outreach to minority and women potential contractors and employees during 2012, the Federal Housing Finance Agency still faces challenges finding qualified and diverse candidates.
Home prices nationwide jumped in February by the largest margin in seven years, said CoreLogic while the SEC has decided to allow public companies to Twitter and Facebook.
An Arizona court is expected to rule soon on whether to approve a proposed asset and stock purchase agreement worth up to $267 million between the appointed receiver of PMI Mortgage Insurance Corp. and private-equity investor Arch Capital.
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac securitization volume reached its highest level in nearly four years during the first three months of 2013, according to a new Inside Mortgage Finance market analysis and lender ranking. Ongoing strength in refinance activity was the key. The two government-sponsored enterprises securitized a total of $296.4 billion of refinance loans during the first quarter, accounting for a hefty 83.3 percent of their total business. It was the biggest wave of refi loans to hit the GSE market since the second quarter of 2009, when a whopping $373.7 billion of refinances were securitized by Fannie and Freddie – before the Home Affordable Refinance Program reached its stride. While GSE refi business was...[Includes three data charts]
Fannie Mae ended 2012 with its single best quarterly and yearly profit in company history, prompting the government-sponsored enterprise to predict sustained profits “for the foreseeable future,” without taking into income any of the massive allowance it has built up related to deferred taxes. Fannie reported net income this week of $17.2 billion for 2012, compared to a net loss of $16.9 billion in 2011, with fourth quarter earnings of $7.6 billion. A year earlier, the GSE posted a $2.4 billion loss for the fourth quarter of 2011. “We had...
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