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Convicted NY fraudster sentenced in hit plot (AP)
Mon, 06 Feb 2012 21:26:54 GMT

This pool July 8, 2009, file photo, shows Aaron Hand, the president of AFG Financial Group., Inc., appearing in a New York courtroom after he was indicted on charges of enterprise corruption and grand larceny in connection with a mortgage fraud scheme. Hand was sentenced Monday, Feb. 6, 2012, to an additional eight to 16 years in prison for a contract-killing scheme, on top of the eight years and four months to 25 years he's serving for the mortgage fraud. (AP Photo/Pool, Mariela Lombard)AP - Convicted of engineering a $100 million mortgage-fraud scheme, Aaron Hand was yearning for vengeance and stuck in prison, prosecutors said.


Calif. and NY considering foreclosure-abuse deal (AP)
Mon, 06 Feb 2012 19:48:43 GMT
AP - California and New York were considering Monday whether to join most other states in backing a long-awaited settlement with banks over foreclosure abuses. The deal would require the five largest mortgage lenders to reduce loans for about 1 million households.
Romney focuses on Obama, Gingrich on Romney in NV (AP)
Fri, 03 Feb 2012 23:35:33 GMT

Republican presidential candidate, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich speaks at Stoney's Rockin Country, Friday, Feb. 3, 2012, in Las Vegas, Nev. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)AP - A confident Mitt Romney accused President Barack Obama of failing to do enough to create jobs as he campaigned Friday ahead of GOP presidential caucuses this weekend in a state with sky-high unemployment and foreclosure rates. Newt Gingrich, who is fighting for a respectable showing here, rolled out a fresh line of criticism by comparing the former Massachusetts governor to Obama.


New York sues banks over electronic mortgage system (Reuters)
Fri, 03 Feb 2012 22:54:10 GMT
Reuters - New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman on Friday sued three major U.S. banks, accusing them of fraud for using an electronic mortgage database that resulted in deceptive and illegal practices.
NY's Schneiderman sues banks in foreclosure effort (AP)
Fri, 03 Feb 2012 22:53:51 GMT
AP - New York's attorney general on Friday accused some of the nation's largest banks of deceit and fraud in using an electronic mortgage registry that he said puts homeowners at a disadvantage in foreclosures while saving banks over $2 billion.
Goldman to face mortgage debt class-action lawsuit (Reuters)
Fri, 03 Feb 2012 17:37:51 GMT
Reuters - Goldman Sachs Group Inc was ordered by a federal judge to face a securities class-action lawsuit accusing it of defrauding investors about a 2006 offering of securities backed by risky mortgage loans from a now-defunct lender.
Analysis: Obstacles high for more mortgage prosecutions (Reuters)
Fri, 03 Feb 2012 02:09:16 GMT
Reuters - Despite the determination of President Obama to take Wall Street to court for the financial crisis, prosecutors face an uphill struggle to win more convictions like the two they scored on Wednesday against former Credit Suisse Group AG mortgage traders.
Homebuilders see stable housing market ahead (AP)
Fri, 03 Feb 2012 00:54:55 GMT
AP - The CEOs of some of the nation's biggest homebuilding companies said Thursday that they feel the housing market has stabilized.
Rate on 30-year mortgage falls to record 3.87 pct. (AP)
Fri, 03 Feb 2012 00:01:17 GMT
AP - The average rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage fell this week to a record low, the ninth time that has happened in the last year. Even with the cheapest rates in history, the housing market remains depressed.
Woman who stole mortgage money and gambled it away, gets prison (Reuters)
Thu, 02 Feb 2012 23:02:54 GMT
Reuters - A former foreclosure counselor who gambled away more than $300,000 she stole from her upstate New York clients was sentenced on Thursday to six years in federal prison.
Illinois accuses mortgage firm of robosigning (Reuters)
Thu, 02 Feb 2012 19:24:46 GMT
Reuters - The attorney general in Illinois on Thursday sued a mortgage document firm and said it filed "faulty" documents with local governments in a rush to process mortgages and foreclosures.
Mortgage rates for the past 52 weeks, at a glance (AP)
Thu, 02 Feb 2012 15:25:55 GMT
AP - Mortgage rates for the past 52 weeks, at a glance
Credit Suisse exec charged in NY mortgage probe (AP)
Thu, 02 Feb 2012 01:37:13 GMT
AP - The desire to fatten year-end bonuses motivated a Credit Suisse executive and two of his employees to conspire to hide the deteriorating condition of the U.S. housing market in 2007 to keep the value of bonds based on subprime mortgages artificially high, authorities said Wednesday.
Obama plan to lower mortgage payments could help, but how much? (The Christian Science Monitor)
Thu, 02 Feb 2012 00:13:17 GMT
The Christian Science Monitor - President Obama fleshed out a new mortgage-relief plan Wednesday, saying the steps he outlines would "help millions of responsible homeowners" and the US economy.
Obama presses Congress to step up aid for homeowners (Reuters)
Wed, 01 Feb 2012 23:48:11 GMT

Txera Alonso (L) and Juan Carlos Bezarra, volunteers from the pressure group Berri-Otxoak walk towards the town hall during a Reuters - President Barack Obama on Wednesday proposed a multi-billion-dollar package to help U.S. homeowners refinance and stave off foreclosure, part of an election-year push that is likely to face an uphill battle by the Republican opposition in Congress.


Exclusive: Mortgage deal would give states enforcement clout (Reuters)
Wed, 01 Feb 2012 20:44:36 GMT
Reuters - A proposed settlement to resolve mortgage abuses by top U.S. banks will give states broad authority to punish firms that mistreat borrowers in the future, according to documents seen by Reuters on Wednesday.
BofA selling three buildings in New York, Charlotte (Reuters)
Wed, 01 Feb 2012 19:43:42 GMT
Reuters - Bank of America Corp plans to sell and lease back three buildings it owns in New York and Charlotte, North Carolina, as it looks to shed non-core assets under an efficiency program
Ex-Credit Suisse employee surrenders: FBI (Reuters)
Wed, 01 Feb 2012 15:08:15 GMT
Reuters - A former Credit Suisse employee surrendered to the FBI on Wednesday on criminal charges, an FBI spokesman said, in a U.S. government probe on writedowns on subprime mortgage derivatives at the height of the financial crisis.
U.S. regulator kicks off foreclosure sales plan (Reuters)
Wed, 01 Feb 2012 14:13:37 GMT

Txera Alonso (L) and Juan Carlos Bezarra, volunteers from the pressure group Berri-Otxoak walk towards the town hall during a Reuters - The regulator for housing finance firms Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac said on Wednesday investors could now sign up to pre-qualify to bid on foreclosed properties held by the government-controlled firms.


Mortgage applications dipped last week: MBA (Reuters)
Wed, 01 Feb 2012 12:26:03 GMT

Txera Alonso (L) and Juan Carlos Bezarra, volunteers from the pressure group Berri-Otxoak walk towards the town hall during a Reuters - Applications for U.S. home mortgages slipped last week, even as interest rates also eased, an industry group said on Wednesday.