Wells Fargo has issued thousands of refund checks to customers who paid unnecessary mortgage fees, according to a report from the Los Angeles Times.
Read More »Pennsylvania Bank Falls, Bringing 2012 Total to 47
The FDIC closed another Pennsylvania institution Friday, bringing the state's year-to-date tally to two and the national tally to 47. The FDIC approved the payout of the insured deposits of NOVA Bank in Berwyn, Pennsylvania, after the Pennsylvania Department of Banking and Securities closed the institution.
Read More »September Spending Growth Outpaces Income
Consumer spending rose $87.9 billion, 0.8 percent, in September twice the 0.4 percent growth in personal income, $48.1 billion, the Bureau of Economic Analysis reported Monday. While the increase in income matched economist expectations, the increase in spending was higher than forecast. It was the third straight month spending grew faster than income, confirming last Friday's report showing a solid growth in Gross Domestic Product from 1.3 percent in the second quarter to 2.0 percent in the third.
Read More »Bradford Technologies Launches Appraisal Tool for Regression Analysis
Bradford Technologies announced the release of CompCruncher 2.0, a tool that enables appraisers to evaluate markets using regression analysis.
Read More »Analysts Examine Bernanke’s Bet on Housing
Global Markets Intelligence suggests the Fed is turning to the housing market "as the last, best hope" for strengthening the economy.
Read More »Massive Mortgage Fraud Investigation Results in 17 More Charged
A massive mortgage fraud investigation led to 17 defendants being charged with crimes ranging from mortgage fraud to money laundering, according to a release from the Justice Department. An additional 14 defendants have also agreed to plead guilty in connection with the investigation, bringing the total number of defendants to 81. A federal indictment unsealed in late October charges the 17 defendants with a number of crimes stemming from their alleged involvement in a criminal organization simply called the "Enterprise."
Read More »Ally Exploring Options to Cut Remaining Mortgage Business
Ally Bank announced it has launched a "process to explore strategic alternatives for its agency mortgage servicing rights (MSR) portfolio and its business lending operations." The announcement signals another step in Ally's shift away from the housing market. In November 2011, the bank began to reduce its correspondent originations business to focus on a smaller group of strategic clients, and in July 2012, it announced its intent to exit the warehouse lending business by the end of the year.
Read More »Park Avenue Pad with Famous Past Lists for $20M
When famed news anchor and 60 Minutes star Mike Wallace passed away earlier this year, the nation mourned the loss of the media legend. However, Wallace's many fans recently got the opportunity to learn more about his life off camera, when his Manhattan duplex hit the open market for a lofty $20 million earlier this month.
Read More »Privately Funded Company Looks to Make Waves in Private Insurance
As the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) makes declarations of intentions of "establishing a path for shifting mortgage credit risk from the Enterprises (and, thereby, taxpayers) to private investors," one company in its infancy plans to take advantage of this opening for private mortgage insurers.
Read More »Ocwen Wins Auction to Buy Out ResCap Portfolio
Ocwen Loan Servicing, LLC and Walter Investment Management Corp. outbid Nationstar Mortgage Holdings and received preliminary approval for the purchase of Residential Capital's mortgage servicing and origination assets. Ocwen's $3 billion was the highest bid for the assets, which went to auction Tuesday.
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