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 | 04/13/2011
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Federal Reserve, and the Office of Thrift Supervision announced formal enforcement actions Wednesday against 14 mortgage servicers and two firms that provide foreclosure-related services to the industry - LPS and MERS. The consent orders are the result of regulators' investigations into robo-signing allegations and represent a settlement with the firms involved, at least in part. Both the OCC and Fed say they believe monetary sanctions in these cases are also warranted, and they plan to pursue such actions separately.
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By Carrie Bay | 03/02/2011
An internal review by SunTrust has uncovered problems with the paperwork in thousands of foreclosure cases, according to a regulatory filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The company says its assessment indicated approximately 4,000 files contained documents with "technical issues" in the complaint verification, affidavit preparation, and notary processes. SunTrust is refiling defective documentation in pending foreclosure actions and expects this process to be completed by the end of March.
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By Carrie Bay | 11/08/2010
Industry data released Monday shows that the biggest originator of home loans is based on the West Coast, while the biggest mortgage servicer is based on the East Coast. With more than $100 billion in new home loans, Wells Fargo held onto the top spot among mortgage originators during the third quarter of this year. Bank of America took the lead spot in the mortgage servicer rankings, with just over $2 trillion in residential home loans in its servicing portfolio as of September 30th.
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By Carrie Bay | 10/22/2010
New data released this week shows that the nation's largest banks are holding monstrous volumes of soured home loans.
According to an analysis by Weiss Ratings, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo each reported more than $20 billion in single-family mortgages currently foreclosed or in the process of foreclosure as of midyear. In addition, for each dollar these banks held of mortgages in foreclosure, there were another $2 in loans in the pipeline that were 30 days or more past due.
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By Carrie Bay | 08/31/2010
U.S. consumers are less satisfied with their experience during the loan modification process than they are during loan origination, namely because mortgage servicers are missing the mark when it comes to delivering on best practices, according to J.D. Power and Associates. The company's survey found that mortgage servicers fail to adhere to a time frame for approval, don't provide the customer with status updates, and repeatedly ask borrowers for the same information. BB&T ranks highest in customer satisfaction among mortgage servicers.
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