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Inside Nonconforming Markets

August 1, 2008

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Servicers Asked to Halt Some Foreclosures for FHA Refi Plan

Democrats in the House are calling on servicers to hold off foreclosing on borrowers who will qualify for an FHA-bailout program set for implementation in October. The program is part of omnibus housing legislation signed this week by President Bush after passing the Senate last weekend on a 72-13 vote. Some 1.1 million loans... Read More

Subprime Servicers Face Criticism, Defend Practices

Democrats in Congress, fueled by complaints from community advocates, are unhappy with subprime servicers’ loss mitigation efforts. At a hearing last week, Rep. Barney Frank, D-MA, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, renewed his threat to alter the structure of the servicing industry if loss mitigation does not... Read More

Implementation of Fed’s New Subprime Rules a Concern

The Federal Reserve’s recently finalized rules for subprime lending could be a bonanza for plaintiff’s attorneys, with litigation aimed at clarifying the rules expected for years to come.The Fed’s massive revision of sections of Regulation Z that implement the Home Ownership and Equity Protection Act leaves as... Read More

Housing Bill a Cornucopia of Changes for Industry

The omnibus housing legislation signed this week by President Bush stretches well beyond an FHA-bailout program aimed at troubled subprime borrowers. The legislation increases conforming loan limits, modernizes the FHA and includes a number of provisions for low-income borrowers. The law provides $4 billion in emergency assistance... Read More

Congress Threatens Rules Tougher Than HOEPA

The Federal Reserve’s recently finalized rules for subprime lending did not go far enough to satisfy Democrats in Congress. Shortly after the Fed finalized its revision of the Home Ownership and Equity Protection Act, Rep. Barney Frank, D-MA, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, suggested tougher legislation is in... Read More

SEC Warns of Subprime MBS Pricing Guessing Game

The lack of liquidity in recent months for subprime mortgage-backed securities has made it difficult for large broker-dealers to independently verify valuations, according to federal regulators. “Firms have become more reliant on modeled prices as opposed to independent third-party pricing services and/or... Read More

FDIC Faces Lawsuit Over Subprime Lending

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. allegedly made thousands of inappropriate subprime loans in 2001 after it took over the failed Superior Bank. For months after its acquisition, the federal regulator continued to allow subprime originations at Superior, even though the bank had failed largely due to such lending... Read More

Many Subprime Loans Went to ‘Wealthy’ Whites

The majority of subprime mortgages went to non-Hispanic whites and upper-income borrowers in 2006, according to a new study that blasts many long-held subprime stereotypes. Most subprime loans were originated in predominately white areas, suggesting that current subprime problems spread well beyond minority... [contains one chart] Read More

B&C News Briefs

Merrill Lynch this week announced the sale of $30.6 billion in super senior collateralized-debt obligations to an affiliate of Lone Star Funds for $6.7 billion. The sale could help establish a price for distressed subprime mortgage assets, as subprime mortgages account for 50 percent, on average of the col-lateral backing high-grade... Read More

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