The mortgage giants owned by the federal government are pushing bad loans back to companies that sold them, reports National Mortgage News: Freddie Mac forced its seller/servicers to buy back $951 million of bad mortgages during the second quarter, a 21% increase from the first quarter. Fannie Mae also…
The Congressional Oversight Panel, which has been reviewing government efforts to rescue banks, released a report today, warning that bad loans and related securities remain a potential risk to the economy and small banks. Here are the key paragraphs (bold added): If the economy worsens, especially if unemployment remains…
Fannie Mae, the mortgage giant seized by the federal government, just put out this release (I put in bold the key parts): Fannie Mae (FNM/NYSE) reported a loss of $14.8 billion, or ($2.67) per diluted share, in the second quarter of 2009, compared with a loss of $23.2 billion,…
Foreclosures plummeted in roughly 70% of ZIPs in Orange County in the second quarter vs. a year ago, reports DataQuick. Jack Kyser, founding economist of The Kyser Center for Economic Research in Los Angeles, said one reason foreclosures dropped in spring was anticipation over President Barack Obama’s foreclosure rescue…
It should surprise no one that Fed Chief Ben Bernanke today said while the economy is showing “tentative signs of stabilization,” the central bank plans to maintain its stimulative monetary policy for an “extended period.” But Bloomberg has a few paragraphs on an eventual exit strategy for the Fed…
The House Appropriations Committee approved an extension of the $729,750 loan limits through September 2010 for mortgage buyers Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and for mortgage insurer the Federal Housing Administration, reports National Mortgage News. The larger limit, up from $417,000 for Fannie and Freddie, will expire at the…
The Wall Street Journal reports Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner’s plan to help investors buy troubled assets from banks has lost momentum. Big banks worried about having to sell at fire-sale prices while small banks feared they would be shut out. Potential buyers balked at the risk of doing business…
Bloomberg reports: The Federal Reserve will let one of its emergency programs expire and trim two others in a sign that improving financial markets allow a first step toward ending its unprecedented interventions. The three programs provide funds or Treasury securities to securities brokers and money-market funds. They are…
The government’s role in the housing market continues to expand. Here’s the latest from National Mortgage News: The Federal Housing Administration insured $27.3 billion in single-family mortgages in April — up 8% from the previous month due to higher mortgage purchase volume. Mortgage purchase volume rose $1.6 billion to…
The Federal Reserve today said it will continue to buy up to $1.25 trillion in mortgage securities by the end of this year and that it is maintaining its target for a benchmark interest rate at between zero and 0.25 percent. Some market watchers have hoped the Fed would…