Federal Housing Finance Agency

Dems: Mortgage Boss Hid Proof Obama's Mortgage Breaks Would Save Billions

HuffingtonPost.com | Michael McAuliff | Posted 05.01.2012

Read More: Mortgage Crisis, Elijah Cummings, Federal Housing Finance Agency, Edward Demarco, John Tierney, Video, Edward Demarco Fhfa, Fhfa, Politics News

WASHINGTON -- Democrats on the House Oversight Committee on Tuesday accused the head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency -- who has refused to follo...

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Principal Reduction: But One Tool for Home Repair

Jared Bernstein | Posted 04.26.2012

Read More: Fhfa, Federal Housing Finance Agency, Edward Demarco Fhfa, Housing Crisis, Ed DeMarco, Underwater Mortgages, Business News

Suppose you are going to repair your damaged home and your only tool on hand is a roll of duct tape. Your resourceful neighbor points out that you could probably also use a hammer, a drill, and a saw. If you're the FHFA, you tell him, "I can do a better job with just my duct tape, so thanks but no thanks." That, in a nutshell, is the problem with the most recent analysis by this key regulator of the mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac when it comes to adding the tool of principal reduction to their anti-foreclosure toolkit. They've made progress in their evaluation of the costs and benefits of loan forbearance and loan forgiveness, but, somewhat bewilderingly, they appear to be comparing the two as if they were mutually exclusive.

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Homeowners Can't Afford Another Missed Opportunity

Janis Bowdler | Posted 04.17.2012

Read More: Foreclosure Crisis, Federal Housing Finance Agency, Nclr, Department of Housing and Urban Development, Latino, Federal Reserve, National Council of La Raza, Ben Bernanke, Foreclosure, Housing Crisis, Bank-Owned-Homes, Reos, Latino Prosperity, Video, Latino Voices News

With a little creativity and cooperation, REOs can become a driving force in neighborhood stabilization. Homeowners cannot afford for banks and regulators to miss another opportunity like this.

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Thanks To BofA You Can Now Buy Foreclosed Homes In Bulk

Reuters | Posted 04.13.2012

Read More: Foreclosure Crisis, Video, Freddie Mac, Subprime Mortgages, Hedge Funds, TPG Capital, Countrywide Financial, Reuters, Bank of America, Mortgage Crisis, Assets, Fannie Mae, Federal Housing Finance Agency, Banks, Foreclosure, Private Equity, Business News

By Matthew Goldstein and Jennifer Ablan NEW YORK, April 12 (Reuters) - For the second time in five months, Bank of America is tapping ...

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DeMarco Speaks! (With Closed Captioning for the Mortgage-Impaired)

Richard (RJ) Eskow | Posted 04.11.2012

Read More: Fhfa, Freddie Mac, Tim Geithner, Hamp, Fannie Mae, Harp, Principal Writedowns, Edward Demarco, Shaun Donovan, Foreclosures, Foreclosure Crisis, Financial Crisis, Federal Housing Finance Agency, Ed DeMarco, Mortgage Crisis, Politics News

DeMarco's still an unelected ideologue with too much power, and he still needs to go. But yesterday, he finally spoke up. To anyone with the right political or emotional closed-captioning device the message was loud and clear: Don't rush me, Mr. President -- and find yourself another fall guy.

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Home Prices Are Up. Haven't You Heard?

Jed Kolko | Posted 04.09.2012

Read More: Trulia Rent Monitor, Mortgages, Housing Market, Subprime Mortgages, Rent Prices, Home Prices, Mortgage Crisis, Federal Housing Finance Agency, Trulia Price Monitor, Rising-Rents, Trulia, Housing Trends, Business News

Why do we see price increases in some places and price declines in others? What drives rent trends? Want to see the full list of price and rent changes for all 100 metros?

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DeMarco Needs to Get to Work or Get a New Job

Mary Jo Kilroy | Posted 03.29.2012

Read More: Fhfa, Federal Housing Finance Agency, Freddie Mac, Ohio, Housing, Fannie Mae, Foreclosure, Principal Write-Down, Edward Demarco, Underwater Mortgages, Business News

The Federal Housing Finance Agency needs to stop being an obstacle and instead empower Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to take reasonable measures to rewrite underwater mortgages, including principal reductions.

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Watchdog: Mortgage Giants Too Free To Make Their Own Decisions

AP | CHRISTOPHER S. RUGABER | Posted 03.29.2012

Read More: Treasury Department, Video, Foreclosure Crisis, Freddie Mac, Bailout, U.S. Housing Regulator, Federal Housing Finance Agency, Financial Crisis, Fannie Mae, Foreclosure, Home Loans, Business News

WASHINGTON -- A government watchdog says the top U.S. housing regulator should take a more active role in overseeing mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Fr...

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Finally, A Commonsense Proposal in the Mortgage Foreclosure Crisis

Amy Hovey | Posted 05.26.2012

Read More: Freddie Mac, Foreclosures, Mortgages, Housing Market, Foreclosure Crisis, Mortgage Settlement, Subprime Mortgages, Housing, Federal Housing Finance Agency, Foreclosure Rate, Fannie Mae, Mortgage Crisis, Foreclosure Settlement, Business News

We've tried and seen the consequences of a laissez faire approach. The fact is that the market cannot correct itself. It's time for the guiding hand of government to provide the push that can send homeowners, communities and the economy on the road to recovery.

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Mortgage Giants Accused Of Spending 'Questionable' Amount On Conference

Reuters | Posted 05.21.2012

Read More: Mortgage Bankers Association, Video, Freddie Mac, Mortgage, Reuters, Mortgage Crisis, Federal Housing Finance Agency, Fannie Mae, Fhfa, Financial Regulation, Business News

WASHINGTON, March 22 (Reuters) - A federal watchdog faulted Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the mortgage finance companies propped up with taxpayer fund...

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Frank Tells Regulator To Go

The Hill | Mike Lillis | Posted 03.12.2012

Read More: Barney Frank Housing, Frank, Barney Frank Fannie Mae, Barney Frank, Federal Housing Finance Agency, Barney Frank Fannie, Ed DeMarco, Politics News

Rep. Barney Frank has joined the growing chorus of Democrats calling for the removal of the nation's leading housing regulator....

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Take a Load Off, Fannie: Principal Reduction Is Overdue

David M. Abromowitz | Posted 05.10.2012

Read More: Principal Reduction, Mortgage Crisis, Federal Housing Finance Agency, Fannie Mae, Foreclosure, Freddie Mac, Housing Crisis, Principal Reduction Housing Market, Edward Demarco, Business News

There's a growing consensus among economists, investors, academics, and consumer advocates that more "principal reduction" can help avoid another wave of costly and economy-crushing foreclosures.

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Fannie, Freddie, and the FHFA Holding The Line On Foreclosure Policies

Joel Sucher | Posted 05.09.2012

Read More: Federal Housing Finance Agency, Occupy Los Angelkes, Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment, Arturo De Los Santos, Occupy Riverside, Freddie Mac, Offthebus, Fannie Mae, Foreclosures, Politics News

Fannie and Freddie never signed on to the Shaun Donovan-brokered agreement; now, along with their overseer and majordomo, the Federal Housing Finance Agency, executives at the "three F's" are hunkered down in the trenches, hands clamped over ears.

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California AG: Let's Make Sure Lending Abuse 'Will Never Happen Again'

Reuters | Posted 04.30.2012

Read More: Fraud, Foreclosures, Video, Foreclosure Crisis, Freddie Mac, Mortgage, California, Kamala Harris, President Barack Obama, Reuters, Mortgage Crisis, Fannie Mae, Federal Housing Finance Agency, Homeowner Bill or Rights, Business News

* Kamala Harris continues fight against lenders * Six bills to protect borrowers from mortgage fraud * Follows settlemen...

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Thanks To The Government You Can Now Rent A Foreclosed Home

AP | The Associated Press | Posted 04.28.2012

Read More: Foreclosure Crisis, Video, Freddie Mac, Rental Market, Business News, Federal Housing Finance Agency, Foreclosure to Rent, Fannie Mae, Foreclosure, Foreclosure Fraud, Housing Crisis, Business News

WASHINGTON — The government is looking to sell off some of its stock of homes in foreclosure. The Federal Housing Finance Agency has control ov...

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Watchdog: Mortgage Giants Spending Too Much Defending Former Execs

AP | MARCY GORDON | Posted 02.22.2012

Read More: Inspector General, Video, Fannie-Freddie-Legal-Fees, Freddie Mac, Fannie Freddie, Business News, Fannie Mae, Federal Housing Finance Agency, Mortgage-Giants, Housing News, Business News

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. government regulator for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac must do a better job limiting legal expenses paid by the two mortgage giant...

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Homeownership: Huge, Expensive Habit No One Can Break

HuffingtonPost.com | Ben Hallman | Posted 02.22.2012

Read More: Mortgages, Freddie Mac, Edward Demarco, Fannie Mae, Federal Housing Finance Agency, Financial Crisis, Homeowners, Foreclosure, Fhfa, Home Loans, Underwater Mortgages, Business News

Like many dangerous addictions, the government's reliance on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to make real the American dream of homeownership has turned in...

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Ex-Fannie Mae Employee: Executives 'Philosophically Opposed' To Loan Forgiveness

HuffingtonPost.com | Bonnie Kavoussi | Posted 02.09.2012

Read More: Elijah Cummings, Principal Reduction, Congress, John Tierney, Housing Market, Mortgage Modification, Housing, Mortgage Crisis, Federal Housing Finance Agency, Fannie Mae, Principal Writedowns, Housing Crisis, Underwater Mortgages, Video, Freddie Mac, House Oversight Committee, Underwater Homeowners, Principal Reductions, Business News

Fannie Mae executives are refusing to forgive part of homeowners' mortgage debt because they are "philosophically opposed" to the idea, according to a...

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Investors Can Pre-Qualify To Bid On Fannie, Freddie's Foreclosed Homes

Reuters | Posted 04.02.2012

Read More: Real Estate Owned Property, Video, Housing Market, Foreclosure Crisis, Freddie Mac, U.S. Housing Market, Reuters, Mortgage Crisis, Federal Housing Finance Agency, Fannie Mae, Housing Finance, Foreclosure, Business News

WASHINGTON, Feb 1 (Reuters) - The regulator for housing finance firms Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac said on Wednesday investors could now sign up to ...

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Double Down: Banks Seek New Way To Profit From Foreclosure Mess

HuffingtonPost.com | Janell Ross | Posted 12.28.2011

Read More: Deutsche Bank, Ubs, Surplus Property, Federal Housing Finance Agency, Fortress Investment Group, Foreclosure, Federal Plan for Foreclosures, Barclays Capital, Household Wealth, Business News

Banks helped create the housing crisis, and now they're seeking a new way to profit from it. As Bloomberg reported Monday, several financial and inves...

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Regulator Mulling Mortgage Debt Reduction For Bankrupt: Report

Posted 12.21.2011

Read More: Video, Bankruptcy, Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae, Federal Housing Finance Agency, Chapter 13, Mortgage Debt, Mortgage Debt Reduction, Fhfa, Underwater Mortgages, Business News

The regulator for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is actively considering a proposal that would allow for a reduction in the outstanding mortgage debt ...

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Officials Join Forces To Turn Up Heat In Mortgage Probe

Posted 12.19.2011

Read More: Eric Schneiderman Fhfa Mortgage Probe, Video, Freddie Mac, Eric Schneiderman, Subprime Lending, Business News, Mortgage Crisis, Steve Linick, Federal Housing Finance Agency, Fannie Mae, Subprime Lending Crisis, Fhfa, Business News

A new collaboration may help to turn up the heat on Wall Street firms accused of mortgage fraud. New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and S...

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Feds Defend Mortgage Giants In Suit Against Chicago

The Huffington Post | Jen Sabella | Posted 12.15.2011

Read More: Cook County Vacant Buildings Ordinance, Fannie and Freddie, Vacant Buildings, Federal Housing Finance Agency, Chicago News, Vacant Buildings Ordinance, Housing Crisis, Bank of America Foreclosures, Home Foreclosures, Action Now, Chicago Foreclosures, Feds Sue Chicago Housing, Federal Housing Lawsuit Chicago, Vacant Houses, Chicago, Fannie and Freddie Chicago Lawsuit, Illinois, Vacant Housing Ordinance Lawsuit, Foreclosure, Chicago Impact, Chicago Vacant Buildings, Chicago News

This summer, residents and community organizers called on Chicago's City Council to do something about the vacant, foreclosed properties that were bec...

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Ex-Countrywide Financial Executive: Mortgage Fraud Was 'Systemic'

The Huffington Post | Harry Bradford | Posted 12.05.2011

Read More: Fraud, Video, Mortgage Lender, Freddie Mac, 60 Minutes, Countrywide Financial, Mortgage Crisis, Bank of America, Fannie Mae, Steve Kroft, Federal Housing Finance Agency, Foreclosure, Martha Coakley, Business News

With mortgage lenders now facing allegations of misconduct on several fronts, a former top ranking employee at a major home lender has come forward sa...

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