Banks Have Just Lost Their Biggest Profit Center – What Will Replace Billions of Profits from Loan-Loss Releases?

During the past five years bankers have reaped billions of dollars in profits by simply making accounting entries instead of making loans. What was the biggest source of banking industry profit growth over the past five years?  As noted repeatedly in FDIC Quarterly Banking Profile reports, the biggest contribution to earnings growth has come from […]

Doubts Remain Over Banking Industry “Recovery” – FDIC Quarterly Banking Profile

The banking industry, which was on the verge of collapse in 2008, is showing tenuous signs of recovery. The FDIC Quarterly Banking Profile for the quarter ending June 30, 2012, showed an increase in both bank profits and lending volume as well as a small decline in the number of problem banks. Almost 63% of […]

Foreclosure Settlement Q&A – Who Wins, Who Loses – A Victory For The Irresponsible

A $25 billion foreclosure settlement reached between the government and the big banks has many wondering who will win and who will lose among the different parties involved.  Although the settlement is complicated and will take years to work out, the basic framework will please some and annoy others. Here are some basic questions and […]

Congress Moves To Prevent FHA Collapse With “FHA Emergency Solvency Act”

The latest FHA Single-Family Outlook report from the FHA shows that serious delinquencies continue to plague the FHA. The number of seriously delinquent FHA loans increased by 18.9% from last year to a record number of 711,082 mortgage loans.  FHA loans classified as seriously delinquent amount to 9.6% of all FHA insured mortgages. A seriously […]

Foreclosure Inventory Near Record Highs, Attempts To Slow Foreclosures Is Prolonging The Housing Crisis

LPS Mortgage Monitor has come out with a comprehensive series of charts including the current level of foreclosures, delinquencies by year of origination, length of time homeowners have not made a payment in judicial states, states with largest drops in non-current mortgages and foreclosure rates in judicial vs non judicial states. The states with the […]

Total 2011 Foreclosure Filings Reach 2.7 Million – Expect 2012 To Be Worse

Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke must be talking to himself by now.  Despite driving interest rates to zero and the expenditure of trillions of dollars to prop up the housing market, home prices declined again in 2011. The most recent data on foreclosure activity makes it clear that the Fed’s efforts to date have accomplished next […]

Banking News – Daily Banking Update

Welcome to Banking Update, a roundup of articles and news from around the Internet.  The government keeps trying new foreclosure programs despite the failure of previous ones, homeowners past due by more than 60 days are unlikely to recover, home prices continue to drop, mortgage fraud continues and almost half of all home purchases are […]

Mortgage Default Is A Financial Bonanza For Many Homeowners As Foreclosure Crisis Continues

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) painted a gloomy picture for the housing markets with its release of the OCC Mortgage Metrics Report for the third quarter of 2011.  Mortgage delinquencies remain at high levels and foreclosures increased by double digits. The OCC report covers mortgages serviced by federal savings associations and […]

Big Banks Say Mortgage Crisis Is Over

The latest financial results from the banking industry point to a resolution of the mortgage crisis that nearly resulted in the nationalization of the country’s biggest banks three years ago. In a dramatic turnaround the country’s largest banks have repaid government loans, often with large profits to the government.  Billions of dollars in new capital […]

Court Ruling Against Bank Foreclosures Could Spiral Into Full Blown Financial Crisis

The recent Massachusetts Supreme Court ruling against Wells Fargo and U.S. Bancorp is likely to bring foreclosures to a crawl, resulting in a further destabilizing of housing markets.  The Court ruling is a major win for debtors and a severe blow for creditors trying to clear a backlog of millions of defaulted mortgages. The Massachusetts […]