Skip to: Content
Skip to: Site Navigation
Skip to: Search
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2009
| Subscribe to Newser's RSS feeds RSS | Follow Newser on Twitter Twitter

NEWS ABOUT: home loans

home loans stories: 33 news summaries

1 - 20 of 33 Stories | 1 2 Next >>

Switch to grid view »

(Newser) - Chris Dodd and Kent Conrad have been cleared of wrongdoing in taking preferred loans from Countrywide Financial, the Hill reports. But the Senate ethics panel gave both Democrats slaps on the wrist. No “credible evidence” of ethics violations emerged, the committee said in a statement, but two “... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Congress • Chris Dodd • home loans • Countrywide Financial • Senate Ethics Committee • Angelo Mozilo • VIPs • Kent Conrad

BofA, Wells Fargo Rank Worst for Loan Modifications

Treasury report rates banks' performance

Aug 4, 09 11:44 AM CDT
(Newser) - Bank of America began modifying just 4% of its loans eligible under the Making Home Affordable Act, according to a Treasury report on big banks' performance, while Wells Fargo started just 6%. JPMorgan Chase led the pack with 20%, Bloomberg reports, while Citigroup had 15%. “Some of the servicers... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Bank of America • foreclosure • mortgage • loans • Wells Fargo • home loans • Treasury Department • mortgage lender • Obama administration • President Obama • loan modification

NAACP Accuses Banks
of Loan Discrimination

Blacks were forced into subprime mortgages, group says

Mar 13, 09 10:49 AM CDT
(AP) - The NAACP is accusing Wells Fargo and HSBC of forcing black people into subprime mortgages while whites with identical qualifications got lower rates. Class-action lawsuits were to be filed against the banks today in federal court in Los Angeles. Similar NAACP lawsuits are pending against a dozen other subprime lenders.... More »

MORE ABOUT:
subprime mortgages • home loans • class action • NAACP • subprime crisis • subprime lender • financial crisis

Treasury May Lower
Mortgage Rates to 4.5%

Rates could go as low as 4.5% to curb falling home prices

Dec 3, 08 4:36 PM CST
(Newser) - The Treasury may try to bring new mortgage rates down to 4.5%—a full percentage point lower than current rates—to revitalize the housing market, the Wall Street Journal reports. Under the proposal, which is still in the early stages, the department would use Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac... More »

MORE ABOUT:
housing market • Freddie Mac • home loans • Fannie Mae • Treasury Department • subprime crisis

analysis

Credit Relief Flows Slowly—When It Flows at All

Consumer aid package won't budge pickier banks

Nov 27, 08 10:14 AM CST
(Newser) - With hundreds of billions of dollars pumping into the calcified credit markets, many struggling Americans are expecting to see some relief, but many will be disappointed, the New York Times reports. Banks continue to stiffen loan eligibility requirements even as strapped consumers face deteriorating credit scores, and whole categories of... More »

MORE ABOUT:
consumer • Federal Reserve • home loans • mortgage backed securities • lending practices • bailout • banks • financial crisis

OPINION

These Days, Local Banks Look Good

Your community banker cares, and may even have good deals

Jul 19, 08 10:35 AM CDT
(Newser) - Community banks may seem like quaint relics to those who prefer banking online, but IndyMac's meltdown should have us thinking differently, Ron Lieber writes in the New York Times. Lieber visited a bank in small-town Maryland, and found a friendly, gray-haired manager who gives banking a personal touch. “If... More »

MORE ABOUT:
money • bank • home loans • savings • bank failure • local bank • community

Mortgage Insurers Feel Pinch, Pull Back on Loans

As more home loans fail, lenders ask more of beleaguered backers

Jul 15, 08 9:51 AM CDT
(Newser) - Mortgage insurers facing mounting defaults are tightening their standards, adding another hurdle for potential homebuyers, the Wall Street Journal reports. Beleaguered and risk-averse banks are making more mortgage applicants apply for insurance, just as insurers are declaring more parts of the country “declining markets.” making insurance harder to... More »

MORE ABOUT:
foreclosure • home loans • Federal Housing Administration • mortgage lender • housing crisis • subprime crisis • mortgage defaults

ANALYSIS

 A Year On, 
 Credit Crisis
 Lingers 

'Vicious circle' threatens broader economy

Jul 1, 08 7:09 AM CDT
(Newser) - Despite assurances from some experts that the credit crisis would be short-lived, the forecast remains bleak after more than a year of frustrations, the New York Times reports. In a “vicious circle,” falling home prices lead to more bad loans, which makes credit harder to get so that... More »

MORE ABOUT:
stock market • Wall Street • bank • home loans • credit crisis • home prices • financial sector • subprime crisis

Obama VP Vetter Draws Heat for  Iffy Salary, Mortgages

GOP hammering VP search head Johnson over Fannie Mae ties

Jun 11, 08 11:27 AM CDT
(Newser) - The questionable past of the man leading Barack Obama's VP search was a gift to the GOP trying to rough up Obama's image as a squeaky-clean outsider, the Washington Post observes, but it also underscores the difficulty the Democrat faces in broadening his grass-roots campaign to the general-election stage. Obama... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Barack Obama • home loans • Fannie Mae • Jim Johnson

ANALYSIS

Crisis Is More
of Confidence Than Credit

Times scribe connects dots from housing boom to Bear Stearns

Mar 19, 08 11:39 AM CDT
(Newser) - The credit crisis that’s roiled financial markets has its genesis in the housing boom that began in 1998, David Leonhardt writes in the New York Times. The boom led lenders to create new financing options—including subprime loans—as investors saw potential for huge returns. Low interest rates encouraged... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Ben Bernanke • subprime mortgages • Bear Stearns • home sales • home loans • credit crisis • financial crisis

FBI Probes Countrywide
for Fraud

Feds seek evidence that subprime lender lied about quality of loans

Mar 9, 08 5:00 AM CDT
(Newser) - The FBI has launched a securities fraud investigation against subprime mortgage lender Countrywide Financial for allegedly lying to investors about its financial status and the quality of its mortgage loans, reports the Wall Street Journal. The probe could extend to Wall Street firms that helped package more than $100 billion... More »

MORE ABOUT:
FBI • Bank of America • federal investigation • home loans • Countrywide Financial • mortgage backed securities • subprime crisis • securities fraud

Bernanke: Homeowners Need More Help

Fed chief calls for writing down problem mortgages' principal

Mar 4, 08 9:29 AM CST
(Newser) - Ben Bernanke says homeowners need more help, and that help might include writing down the principal on some problem loans, reports the Wall Street Journal.  "Efforts by both government and private-sector entities to reduce unnecessary foreclosures are helping, but more can, and should, be done," ... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Ben Bernanke • foreclosure • mortgage • home loans • homeowners • refinanced mortgages • negative equity • upside-down mortgages

Home Sales, Prices Sink Again

Would-be buyers get comfy, waiting for better deals

Feb 25, 08 10:05 AM CST
(Newser) - Existing-home sales and home prices continued to fall in January, indicating that would-be buyers are waiting for the market to bottom out, the Wall Street Journal reports. "Inventories are high, so it's not surprising prices are declining," said one economist, who described home sales as "soft but... More »

MORE ABOUT:
home loans • home prices • existing home sales

Investigators Ask: Did Banks Withhold Info?

Banks hid risk of bundled 'exception' loans, insiders say

Jan 12, 08 4:35 PM CST
(Newser) - Prosecutors are probing Wall Street banks to see if they ever revealed the risky nature of certain subprime mortgage investments, the New York Times reports. Industry experts are accusing the banks of turning high-risk loans, called exceptions, into investments without divulging details to investors and credit-rating agencies. One probe, led... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Wall Street • subprime mortgages • Andrew Cuomo • home loans • New York Attorney General • subprime crisis

Paulson Calls for More Housing Relief

Treasury secretary suggests aid for prime-rate borrowers

Jan 7, 08 9:17 PM CST
(Newser) - Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson advised the mortgage industry today to give help to millions of financially stressed homeowners whose mortgages are set to rise. His comments signal that the Bush administration is starting to push lenders to expand relief beyond subprime borrowers to homeowners with other adjustable-rate loans, reports the... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Bush administration • subprime mortgages • Henry Paulson • US economy • home loans • Treasury Department • default • adjustable rates • borrowers • housing crisis

New Home Sales Hit 12-Year Low

Decline tops even worst estimate

Dec 28, 07 11:00 AM CST
(Newser) - New home sales fell much farther than expected in November, hitting their lowest point since 1995, Bloomberg reports, and the slide only likely to get worse. Sales fell to an annual pace of 647,000, a 9% drop from October’s revised-down 711,000 rate. Prices are falling, but buyers... More »

MORE ABOUT:
housing market • subprime mortgages • home sales • home loans • credit crisis • housing crisis

Mortgage-Rate Freeze Draws Backlash

Plan to give borrowers
a break called 'morally repugnant'

Dec 1, 07 11:51 AM CST
(Newser) - Not everyone is applauding Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson's plan to freeze adjustable mortgage rates on distressed home loans to help contain the spreading subprime crisis. Some analysts think the plan will only postpone foreclosures, rather than preventing them. And now that loans are bundled and sold to investors, some of... More »

MORE ABOUT:
subprime mortgages • Henry Paulson • home loans • Treasury Department • borrowers

'08 Subprime Fallout:
At Least 1.4M Foreclosures

Mortgage crisis slams economy across the board

Nov 27, 07 11:02 AM CST
(Newser) - The subprime mortgage fallout will continue through 2008, with 1.4 million Americans facing foreclosure, municipalities losing more than $6.6 billion in taxes, and housing values plummeting up to 16%, says a US Conference of Mayors report out today. The analysis projects slowed GDP growth and consumer spending and... More »

MORE ABOUT:
economic growth • subprime mortgages • foreclosure • home sales • GDP • home loans

Countrywide to Refinance Risky Home Loans

About 80,000 subprime borrowers will get lower rates from the $16B plan

Oct 23, 07 5:38 PM CDT
(Newser) - Countrywide, the nation's largest mortgage lender, will refinance $16 billion worth of subprime home loans. The move will allow 80,000 customers with adjustable-rate mortgages to get lower rates, making it more likely that they'll keep their homes. Countrywide will make less money from the new arrangement, but fewer mortgages... More »

MORE ABOUT:
subprime mortgages • Henry Paulson • home loans • Countrywide Financial • borrowers

On-Time Mortgage Payments Up

But defaults on earlier subprime loans continue to rise

Oct 19, 07 5:53 AM CDT
(Newser) - Offering a glimmer of hope in the mortgage crisis, recent loans show an increase in on-time payments. But the good news does not extend to loans made earlier. And for all home loans nationwide, defaults continue to rise, making likely a continued surge in foreclosures and decline in home sale... More »

MORE ABOUT:
home loans

1 - 20 of 33 Stories | 1 2 Next >>


from our news partners