Most of the news this week was negative. So I was going to just wish you happy holidays and be on my way, but I couldn't resist.
One of the great hopes (at least for me) to help pull us through this mess was Countrywide. Now, the industry giant is under investigation in Illinois and California for concerns about it's lending practices. This may be a witch hunt, or may have some merit, either way the black mark it leaves is just another blow - and not one I think the industry can take. And on top of that, an analysis was also released that in 2008, jobs in the mortgage industry will need to be cut by a third.
Thanks! I needed a boost this week.
I also noticed that in the wake of the Bush Plan and it's lack-luster results, the scramble is on to start implementing some new solutions. The fed announced two new initiatives this week in attempts help lessen the subprime blow. The first was to limit penalties lenders can charge for early repayment of subprime home loans. The second, and one that I think is more political then anything, was directed at improving transparency in the mortgage industry. That's a good one.
Essentially, the Fed is evaluating whether consumers need more information on how mortgage brokers are paid. The way I read it is, we still blame the mortgage brokers for most of this mess, lumping all brokers into one big category. I know, I'm bias, or just may be way off base. That's why I'm ending this DealWire asking for your thoughts on this issue of transparency.
Make sure you have a safe and happy Holiday.
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Sean Fenlon |
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| I don’t get it — and I’m a reasonably bright guy that happens to know a LOT about the mortgage industry. I already pleaded for a Laissez-faire government policy on this one. Although, I was quite happy to hear Warren Buffet agree with me on something non-political.
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Bloomberg |
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| The Federal Reserve will make it tougher for lenders to impose fees for early repayment of subprime home loans, according to consumer advocates and a regulator.
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AP |
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| Attorneys general in California and Illinois are investigating the lending practices of Countrywide Financial Corp., the nation's largest mortgage lender.
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CNNMoney |
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| Average home prices will decline another 4 to 5 percent in 2008, according to Fannie Mae Chief Executive Dan Mudd.
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CNNMoney |
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| The mortgage industry will continue to feel the impact of the deflationary housing market and rising credit costs and needs to shed a third of its roughly 400,000 jobs in the next year if it is to generate a profit, an analyst said Friday.
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MotleyFool |
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| U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said Friday that the Fed will consider whether consumers need more information on how mortgage brokers are paid as part of its efforts to improve transparency in the mortgage industry.
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ChicagoTribune |
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| Nothing is more fun than doing noble deeds with someone else's money, and right now Democrats are getting ready for a rollicking good time. Contemplating the subprime mortgage problem, with numerous borrowers unable to pay their debts, the party's presidential candidates and congressional leaders have a simple solution: Fleece the lenders.
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Newsday |
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| A budding industry of mom-and- pop players has jumped into the mortgage crisis to try to buy or broker multimillion-dollar packages of foreclosures and loans.
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BloggingfStocks |
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| Surprisingly, the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), a conservative, market-oriented think tank, believes we may want to revisit the work of the bailout federal agency, Home Owners' Loan Corp., which was created to help get us out of the depression in 1933 when thousands of banks failed and millions couldn't pay their mortgages, according to a story in the weekend Journal. This federal agency bought distressed mortgages from banks at a discount and refinanced them on easier terms.
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USAToday |
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| Federal Trade Commission Chairman Deborah Platt Majoras says her agency has done a credible job regulating the Big Three credit bureaus.
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MiamiHerald |
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| With the housing market in decline, unscrupulous sales agents are popping up in the booming reverse mortgage industry, where reports of deceptive and high-pressure sales tactics are worrying lawmakers and consumer advocates alike.
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APP |
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| A slight majority of those participating in an online poll agree with the federal government's decision to freeze subprime mortgage rates to help homeowners with spotty credit faced with an increase in payments.
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Reuters |
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| The U.S. Senate on Friday overwhelmingly passed legislation to expand the nation's largest federal homeownership program in a move that could help struggling subprime borrowers avoid foreclosure.
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MichiganAPNews |
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| The Senate has passed a bill written by Sen. Debbie Stabenow that would allow homeowners to receive mortgage forgiveness from their lender tax-free.
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NPR |
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| Earlier in the year, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee was near the back of the pack in the race for the Republican presidential nomination.
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Charlotte |
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| Increase oversight of mortgage lenders and brokers in an effort to reduce foreclosures. It would also make mortgage fraud a felony. The rate of foreclosures in South Carolina is among the nation's worst, according to a recent report by the Corporation for Enterprise Development, an economic think tank.
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NorthCountry |
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| The Florida Supreme Court in recent court orders disciplined 23 attorneys, disbarring three, suspending 14, placing three on probation, reprimanding six and ordering three to pay restitution. Some attorneys received more than one form of discipline.
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