Finance

Despite assertions they got off relatively lightly in the Dodd-Frank Act, foreign banks operating in the U.S. are increasingly worried they will be targeted by some of the regulatory reform law's toughest provisions.

Sales of new single-family home sales rose 7.3% in April from the month prior to notch their second straight month of gains — and prices increased — but compared to a year ago the business was still in a depression, registering a 23% slide.

At the end of March, mortgage companies were servicing just shy of $9.5 trillion in home loans, a 4% decline from a year ago, and a sign that foreclosures and ‘cash-in’ refinancings are continuing to play a key role in reducing residential debt.According to figures compiled by National Mortgage News (NMN) and the Quarterly Data Report (QDR), mortgage debt outstanding in the U.S. (servicing rights) peaked at $10.1 trillion in 4Q09. Since then it’s been a steady slide as consumers default on their loans, removing those mortgages from the dockets of the nation’s servicing companies – especially larger players such as Bank of America, Wells Fargo & Co., and Chase.

Although the Federal Reserve Bank of New York has maintained throughout the auction of its Maiden Lane II portfolio that it is happy with the sales, the pricing dynamics in the market today might have been enough to make the government rethink its strategy, at least for the short term.

Future losses at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will be driven not by their operating results, but by the fact that they must continue to pay the U.S. Treasury hefty dividends on the preferred stock the government owns in the two, according to a new report from Keefe, Bruyette & Woods.

First Capital has renewed and extended the maturity on its $150 million senior secured credit facility with DZ BANK.

Freddie Mac is coming to market with a $538 million CMBS deal backed by 19 multifamily properties owned by Apartment Investment & Management Co.

Republican lawmakers have drafted a proposal that would raise the minimum downpayment on Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loans to 5% and drastically scale back the size of the federal mortgage insurance program, according to trade group officials familiar with the effort.

Principia Partners appointed Jason Foundakos as sales and business development executive based in New York.

RBS Securities hired Perrin Arturi as a managing director on its agency passthough trading desk.

Regulators' mortgage servicing consent orders require big banks to conduct a thorough review of their foreclosures. On Friday they were told what "thorough" means.

Bank of America Corp. is shedding its remaining interest in asset manager BlackRock for $2.55 billion.

Ocwen Financial is one of at least three investors that were invited in by Goldman Sachs to make a final round of bids on Litton Loan Servicing, the Wall Street firm’s specialty servicing division, according to investment bankers and others close to the situation.

The U.S. government and a group of private investors plan to spin off the subprime lending and servicing division of American International Group (AIG), by selling $500 million worth of stock to the public – through a REIT structure.

It’s official: Leveraged loans are back in Europe and they are here to stay.

Pending mortgage-related regulations threaten to become a "tsunami" of burdens that could unintentionally harm an already fragile mortgage industry, Acting Comptroller of the Currency John Walsh said Thursday.

Federal bank regulators need to update their commercial real estate (CRE) guidance to bring standards more in line with how examiners treat loans following the financial crisis, according to a new oversight report.

David Jones, the founder and chief executive of CastleOak Securities, compares his firm to a sports car.

The chief financial officer of nonperforming loan (NPL) investor Kondaur Capital departed the company about 10 days ago – at the same time that the NPL investor’s founder and chairman Jon Daurio was forced out by the firm’s board, National Mortgage News has learned.According to NPL investors and a source at Kondaur, CFO Janice Ramocinski resigned from the privately held firm, whose investors and backers include The Carlyle Group, and Tourmalet Advisors.

The Treasury Department has directed the 20 largest Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) servicers to establish "relationship managers" who will provide a single point of contact for homeowners seeking a loan modification.