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Inside Mortgage Finance

July 3, 2008

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OIG Cites Need for Improvement in HUD’s Reporting of Performance Measure Results

With first-quarter FHA-insured loan activity up $20.9 billion from last year, it has become more vital than ever for the agency to have a firm grip on program performance and reporting. Yet in an audit released June 24, the Office of the Inspector General outlined several problems with the reporting of performance measure results by the Single Family Housing Division of the Department of... Read More

State AGs Sue Countrywide for Deceptive, Discriminatory Lending Practices but Denies Actions are Coordinated

Three state attorneys general have filed separate lawsuits against Countrywide and its two top executives for allegedly putting thousands of borrowers into bad loans that eventually ended in or faced foreclosure. A separate action by Washington state alleges discriminatory lending. Attorneys general of California, Florida and Illinois filed their complaints shortly before... Read More

IndyMac Defends Business Model Against Schumer Critique; Works to Raise More Capital in Wake of Moody’s Downgrade

IndyMac Bank defended its business model this week, after coming under tremendous pressure from rating services and public questioning by Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-NY, of the company’s financial condition. Moody’s Investors Service cut IndyMac’s servicer-quality ratings due to concerns about its level of capital. Schumer’s cage-rattling appeared to play a role in the flight of some... Read More

Senate to Resume Omnibus Housing Bill Vote Next Week As White House Calls on Congress to Cross Finish Line

The Senate is scheduled to take up its omnibus housing legislation at the start of next week, after a last-minute legislative block delayed final action and expected passage last week. President George Bush called on lawmakers to finish the package before the housing market gets much worse. “I think we can get a bill, but it’s going to require less politics and more focus on... Read More

Bank of America Seals the Deal, Absorbing One of the Mortgage Industry’s Top Brands

Bank of America this week bought its way to the top of the mortgage industry by acquiring Countrywide Financial, along with the biggest share of the spotlight aimed with great intensity at the mortgage industry. Countrywide has been such a huge player in the market that it will still rank as one of the top lenders in 2008 despite losing its independence halfway through the year. Even without selling... Read More

Trade Groups Launch Lobbying Blitz to Get HUD and The Fed to Harmonize Emerging Disclosure Changes

The mortgage industry is doing all it can to get the Department of Housing and Urban Development to delay its solo rulemaking effort and work instead with the Federal Reserve to harmonize disclosures under the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act and the Truth in Lending Act. Industry participants say they are refocusing their lobbying efforts as HUD continues to ignore calls... Read More

GSE Business Boom Begins to Ebb in Second Quarter, Wells Presses Ahead

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac posted further increases in new single-family mortgage securitization volume during the second quarter, but business tapered off at both government-sponsored enterprises as interest rates rose in June. MBS pool data analyzed by Inside Mortgage Finance also show a continuing GSE emphasis on credit quality in 2008. Average credit scores in... [Includes three charts] Read More

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