mortgage insurance

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FHA May Soon Need Its First-Ever Bailout

Auditors say agency will need taxpayer funds if home prices keep falling

(Newser) - The US housing market is in such sorry shape that the Federal Housing Administration may soon need an injection of taxpayer funds for the first time since it was created as part of the New Deal 77 years ago. The agency's cash reserves have dropped to $2.7 billion,...

Feds Sue Deutsche Bank Over Reckless Mortgage Lies

$1B suit may be first of many

(Newser) - The federal government is suing Deutsche Bank for $1 billion over shoddy mortgages that cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars. The suit accuses the lender of lying to the government while arranging federal insurance on mortgages that it had recklessly approved for poor credit risks, reports the Los Angeles ...

FHA Helps High-End Buyers
 FHA Helps High-End Buyers  

FHA Helps High-End Buyers

Raised guarantee limit may be tough to roll back

(Newser) - When the government last year doubled the amount the FHA will guarantee on a home loan, to more than $700,000, it moved the agency into uncharted territory: backing loans for the middle-class and the wealthy, too. It also moved the FHA, designed to help low-income buyers who can't raise...

The Next Mortgage Lender Bailout: The FHA

Critics think fallback agency will need a rescue in next couple of years

(Newser) - Another mortgage lender specializing in low income borrowers is in trouble: the Federal Housing Administration. The agency which oversees Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could soon share their fate, as borrowers default on the low-downpayment mortgages it insures, critics told a House subcommittee yesterday. “It appears destined for a...

Mortgage Deal Close in Senate
Mortgage Deal Close in Senate

Mortgage Deal Close in Senate

Bipartisan bill would expand insurance for refinanced loans, boost feds' oversight

(Newser) - A Senate committee is close to agreeing on expansion of a government insurance program for refinanced mortgages, the Wall Street Journal reports. Though ridden with partisan conflict as recently as a week ago, staff for Democrat Chris Dodd and Republican Richard Shelby said today the sides were nearing a compromise,...

Depression-Era FHA Tries to Save Mortgages

Long-sidelined agency now a central player in the credit crisis

(Newser) - It’s been a while since the Federal Housing Administration was relevant. But now policymakers are counting on the Depression-era agency, which mostly insures mortgages, to once again solve a housing crisis. FHA-insured loans are swiftly becoming substantially cheaper than their Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac backed counterparts. “The...

AIG Posts $5.2B Loss on Writedown
AIG Posts
$5.2B Loss
on Writedown

AIG Posts $5.2B Loss on Writedown

Giant insurer takes $11B charge on mortgage woes

(Newser) - Today's after-hours bad news from the credit-crunch front comes from insurer AIG, which reported a fourth-quarter loss of $5.29 billion after taking an $11 billion writedown on mortgage-related insurance contracts, the Wall Street Journal reports. The loss amounts to $2.08 per share; American International Group turned a profit...

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