Ally
By Ryan Schuette | 05/15/2012
After suffering from bad loans during the financial crisis, Ally Financial looks to close the books on its share of ownership in the mortgage business. Executives with Ally took to the phone with investors Tuesday to explain a filing for bankruptcy protection Monday by subsidiary Residential Capital LLC. The consensus: Residential mortgage loans are out for Ally and auto finance is back in the center. Ally will still subservice loans via ResCap while it serves as counterparty to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
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By Esther Cho | 05/14/2012
Ally Financial announced Monday that its mortgage arm Residential Capital (ResCap) filed for bankruptcy, enabling the bank to focus on strategies to pay back remaining bailout funds still owed to Treasury. ResCap filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in Manhattan federal court, and Ally announced it will sell some its international operations to pay back Treasury. The financial institution will also focus on strengthening its auto and banking businesses.
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By Ryan Schuette | 04/24/2012
Parties to the landmark mortgage servicing settlement appointed one man to oversee $25 billion in compliance. In an interview with DS News, Joseph A. Smith, onetime banking commissioner for North Carolina and ex-nominee to head the Federal Housing Finance Agency, lays out the role he envisions playing as he monitors funds for homeowners, states, and the federal government. The settlement monitor speaks with an understated tone about his stewardship of the historic settlement, which 49 state attorneys general and federal officials completed in February.
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By Carrie Bay | 04/16/2012
Ally Financial has agreed to extend the maturity of its secured debt facility with its wholly owned mortgage subsidiary Residential Capital LLC (ResCap). Shortly following the announcement, Fitch Ratings issued a research note on the action, saying that Ally's decision is in line with the agency's expectation of continued moderate support to ResCap from its parent company. That moderate support, however, may be short-lived. With the debt renewal only extended through mid-May, Ally may be planning for a bankruptcy resolution in the near future.
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By Carrie Bay | 03/14/2012
Oklahoma residents seeking restitution under the state's mortgage settlement with the nation's largest mortgage servicers must apply for benefits by September 13, 2012. The agreement between Attorney General Scott Pruitt and Bank of America, Citigroup, Ally's GMAC, JPMorgan Chase, and Wells Fargo gives the state $18.6 million, all of which will be used to compensate residents wronged in the foreclosure process. Under the nationwide settlement, Oklahoma would have received an estimated $10.2 million, and most of it would have been "paid" in the form of credits for loss mitigation activities fulfilled by the servicers.
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By Esther Cho | 03/14/2012
If extremely severe economic conditions were to fall upon the U.S., 15 of the 19 banks tested by the Fed's stress scenario projections are said to be able to survive and continue to lend. The hypothetical stressful scenario included a 13 percent unemployment rate, 50 percent decline in equity prices, and a 20 percent decline in home prices. The scenario covers nine quarters into the fourth quarter of 2013, and the four banks that failed - Ally Financial, Citigroup, SunTrust, and MetLife - were said to have one or more projected regulatory capital ratios that fell below the 5 percent minimum levels at some point over the stress scenario horizon, according to the Fed.
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By Carrie Bay | 02/09/2012
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and the Federal Reserve issued statements Thursday detailing monetary penalties they have levied against the nation's largest servicers for "unsafe and unsound mortgage servicing and foreclosure practices." The OCC is assessing a total of $394 million in penalties against Bank of America, Citi, JPMorgan Chase, and Wells Fargo. The Federal Reserve's monetary sanctions total $766.5 million and target the same four institutions as well as Ally Financial.
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By Krista Franks | 02/09/2012
Federal and state officials announced Thursday morning that the federal government and 49 state attorneys general - with Oklahoma as the lone exception - have reached a $25 billion agreement with the nation's five largest mortgage servicers to address what authorities describe as "loan servicing and foreclosure abuses." The settlement with the nation's top five servicers – Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Citigroup, and Ally Financial (formerly GMAC) - provides financial relief to homeowners and establishes new homeowner protections.
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By Krista Franks Brock | 02/06/2012
The deadline for the 50 state attorneys general to sign onto the settlement negotiated between the committee headed by Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller and five large servicers was extended from Friday to Monday. Late Monday evening, Miller's office issued a statement saying more than 40 states have agreed to participate. For the past few months, the number repeated from various sources is $25 billion. That's $25 billion that Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Citigroup, and Ally Financial would pay for a clean slate regarding robo-signing misdeeds of the past.
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By Carrie Bay | 02/02/2012
It will be at least three more days before the industry learns how many and which states have agreed to the robo-signing settlement that was proposed last week. The deadline for state attorneys general to opt in has been pushed from February 3 to February 6. A spokesperson for Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller says at least one state requested an additional business day to come to a decision, so Miller, who is head of the states' negotiating committee, moved the cut-off date to Monday.
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