Loan Modification — Morning Mortgage Notes

Maybe the FDIC Did Have the Best Loan Modification Plan?

July 24, 2009 By Bill Rice 1 Comment

Considering all the heat FDIC Chair Sheila Bair got during her campaign for loan mods and the program she implemented at IndyMac Bank, I found this article interesting. I guess the "proof is in the pudding" now. Housing Wire: IndyMac Modification Outperform Industry Redefault Standards As of May 31, 2009 the redefault rate among modified IndyMac Federal Bank (IndyMac) loans was 15.6%. The bulk of these modifications took place in Q408 — as early as September 2008, according to FDIC spokesperson … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Loan Modification Tagged With: Banking Services, Banks and Institutions, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, IndyMac Bank, OneWest Bank, Sheila C. Bair

Kicking in Doors on Loan Modification and Loan Rescue Scams

July 24, 2009 By Bill Rice Leave a Comment

Most of the mortgage news this morning is leading with State Attorneys Generals, Federal prosecutors, and the FTC coordinating to shutdown loan businesses preying on desperate homeowners. Inman News: Officials in California shutdown Anaheim-based Loan Mod Boiler Room Operation. The company employed a sales force of 31 at the time it was shut down, McNamara found, and less than half as many employees engaged in negotiating loan modifications with lenders or processing related documents. Employees … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Loan Modification Tagged With: Federal Trade Commission, Financial Services, mortgage, Mortgage modification

Loan Modifications Getting Mixed Re-default Results

December 12, 2008 By Bill Rice 2 Comments

John Dugan, Comptroller of the Currency has people thinking about the potential risks of mortgage loan modifications. Releasing data earlier this week, Dugan revealed that over 50 percent of loan workouts re-default within the first six months. Meanwhile, FDIC Chairman Sheila Bair says, "not so fast, check your data." Bair points to how loan are modified as the key determinate of success. For example, lowering rates drops that re-default rate to 23 percent according to Credit Suisse survey. A recent … [Read more...]

Filed Under: FDIC, Foreclosure, Loan Modification, Politics, Treasury Tagged With: FDIC, loan modification, occ, ocwen

Foreclosures Drop, False Promise

December 11, 2008 By Bill Rice Leave a Comment

Foreclosure Rates Down RealtyTrac reports a strong 7 percent drop in November foreclosure rates, but pause the rejoicing. There are lots of foreclosure abatement programs at work here. And there is emerging bad news on the loan modification front, OCC reports greater than a 50 percent redefault rate with six months. Delinquencies on loans not yet in the foreclosure process jumped to nearly seven percent in the third quarter, a record high, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association, Saccacio said. "And … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Foreclosure, Loan Modification Tagged With: foreclosure, foreclosure prevention, loan modification

Loan Modifications Could Present Constitutional Problems?

November 19, 2008 By Bill Rice Leave a Comment

Loan modifications are gaining a lot of momentum, both politically and within financial institutions themselves. Some economist are even coming to the conclusion that it is the fastest way to put a floor on housing prices, but could it raise Constitional dilemma? Daniel Alpert of the RGE Monitor does and interesting analytical piece, exploring the Constitutionality of mandatory loan modifications. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Loan Modification Tagged With: constitution, Loan Modification

Bair, Paulson Showdown Hits the (Public) Congressional Floor

November 19, 2008 By Bill Rice Leave a Comment

We knew this was coming...the Bair/Paulson Smackdown. This is truly a rare event to watch two government agencies open up a public battle for power and leadership. The sides are aligned: Treasury Secretary Paulson/White House versus FDIC Chairman Bair (a Bush appointee)/Congressional Democrats. The strategy seems clear--Paulson is playing to hold the line for the next 9 weeks and Bair is playing for a longer term opportunity with the new Obama White House. Paulson stuck to his reversal in TARP … [Read more...]

Filed Under: FDIC, Loan Modification, TARP, Treasury Tagged With: FDIC, hank paulson, sheila bair, TARP

Loan Modifications Primer for Mortgage Industry

November 12, 2008 By Bill Rice 1 Comment

If you don't know loan modifications you are going to have a hard time surviving this mortgage business cycle. Despite all of the appealing government assistance and FHA mortgage refinance programs, banks and now the government is settling into massive programs to streamline loan modifications for troubled homeowners. Here is a quick primer on loan modifications to get you up to speed and help you spot opportunities for your mortgage business: FHFA endorsed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Loan Modification … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Economy, FDIC, Foreclosure, Loan Modification, Treasury Tagged With: bank of america, bofa, citigroup, fhfa, foreclosure, james lockhart, jp morgan chase, loan modification, neel kashkari

AMEX Bank, ABA No New Regs, Big Bank Loan Modifications, Economist Turn Negative, 10 Benefits of Recession

November 11, 2008 By Bill Rice Leave a Comment

American Express Becomes a Bank American Express becomes a bank, getting unprecedented speedy approval to become a Federally chartered bank. This is likely a smart preemptive move by American Express to hedge mounting credit card troubles by gaining access to TARP bailout funds. The cautionary part of this tale--how bad might those mounting losses be for the Federal Reserve to waive even the cursory 30-day waiting period? Bad! American Express Co. won U.S. Federal Reserve approval to become a commercial … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Economist, Economy, FDIC, Loan Modification, Mortgage Notes, Mortgage Rates, Treasury Tagged With: aba, american express, amex, Economist, Loan Modification, recession