Wells Fargo Bank
A federal class action in Pittsburgh claims that Wells Fargo Bank’s failure to properly calculate borrowers’ attorneys’ fees in the Home Affordable Modification Program resulted in at least 625 improper foreclosures.
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Transit Authority’s Politics Ban Spurs Pushback at 3rd Circuit
A nonprofit news organization blocked from running bus ads on racial disparities in mortgage lending urged the Third Circuit on Wednesday to rule against a transit authority’s advertising policy.
Read moreTreasury Reveals Plan to Privatize Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac
The Trump administration has unveiled its plan for ending government control of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the two giant mortgage finance companies that nearly collapsed in the financial crisis 11 years ago and were bailed out at a cost to taxpayers of $187 billion, which has been repaid.
Read moreLive Well?
The SEC claims in federal court that Michael C. Hild, 43, of Richmond, Va., pocketed “more than $24 million in compensation which was funded wholly or substantially by the ill-gotten gains” that his co-defendant company Live Well Financial “obtained through its mismarking scheme” involving bonds and reverse mortgages.
Read moreWells Fargo
Reversing, a California appeals court found that Wells Fargo’s mortgage modification contract was ambiguous, as the borrower claims, about the bank’s ability to demand a balloon payment after completion of the temporarily lowered mortgage payments.
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Day After Day, Barcelona Mortgage Protester Ends up in Jail
It’s 11:30 in the morning and Antonio Díaz begins shouting at the top of his lungs. He hollers at the towering court building, condemning the judges and prosecutors behind the walls and rows of glass windows. His hands and body tremble in rage.
Read moreSecurities Fraud
Nomura Securities International will pay $25 million to settle two related complaints of failing to supervise traders in mortgage-backed securities, the SEC said.
Read moreCity Fights $750K Verdict Tied to Violent Sheriff’s Auction
Hit with a $750,000 verdict in favor of a man whom officers tackled and Tasered at a sheriff’s sale, Philadelphia fought at the Third Circuit on Monday for a reversal.
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Manafort Pleads Not Guilty to State Charges of Mortgage Fraud
Already convicted federally on a host of financial crimes, former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort pleaded not guilty Thursday to related criminal charges by New York authorities.
Read moreReal Estate
A federal judge granted a motion to compel discovery from the Real Estate Law Center, which New Mexico accuses of advertising mortgage relief and sought fees in violation of the Mortgage Assistance Relief Services Rule.
Read moreMortgages
A federal judge remanded to state court some claims in which CMG Mortgage is accused of failing to modify the homeowners’ loan after they obtained $100,000 in mortgage assistance from the Keep Your Home California state program.
Read moreWells Fargo
Reviving fair-housing claims, the 11th Circuit ruled that Miami plausibly alleged Wells Fargo’s discriminatory mortgage-lending practices injured the tax base, resulting in “a disproportionate and excessive number of defaults by black and Latino homebuyers.”
Read moreMorgan Stanley Coughs Up $150M for California Pension Losses
More than a decade after the bottom fell out the U.S. economy and the housing market tanked, multinational investment company Morgan Stanley has agreed to pay California $150 million to settle claims the company hid the riskiness of mortgage-backed securities sold to the state’s public employee pension funds.
Read moreCalifornia Ordered to Return $331 Million to Troubled Homeowners
In February 2012, with California still reeling from the Great Recession, then-state Attorney General Kamala Harris delivered a bit of good news to Gov. Jerry Brown: The nation’s largest mortgage banks had agreed to pay the state $410 million directly for their role in the subprime mortgage fiasco.
Read moreLawyers Duck Debt-Collector Liability at Supreme Court
A law firm that carried out a nonjudicial foreclosure against a homeowner who defaulted on his loan does not qualify as a debt collector, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Wednesday.
Read moreIn Manhattan Prosecution, Manafort and DA Confront Their Pasts
That Paul Manafort committed crimes within Manhattan borders is by now indisputable. What divides experts, however, is whether the new state charges unveiled against the former Trump campaign chair can withstand a double-jeopardy challenge.
Read moreMortgage Rates
The average rate on the benchmark 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage rose to 4.46 percent, Freddie Mac said Thursday, marking a boost from 4.45 percent last week and from 4.22 percent a year ago.
Read moreUS Home Price Growth Slowed in October
U.S. home price growth slowed in October, a likely consequence of higher mortgage rates having worsened affordability and causing sales to fall.
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