The Census Bureau reports that the level of homeownership has declined to 66.5% for the last quarter of 2010. The number of Americans owning a home is now at the lowest level since 1998 when the rate of ownership was slightly lower at 66.4%. The lower rate of homeownership is not a disaster, as portrayed […]
FDIC Chief Condemns Mortgage Servicers While Ignoring FDIC Role In Mortgage Crisis
January 19, 2011 By 3 Comments
In a strongly worded speech at the Summit On Residential Mortgage Servicing For the 21st Century, FDIC Chief Sheila Bair condemned the mortgage servicing industry for their role in extending the mortgage crisis. Ms. Bair stated that the housing industry has been stabilized by emergency measures but that the effects of the housing bust and […]
Big Banks Say Mortgage Crisis Is Over
January 14, 2011 By 1 Comment
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 […]
Total Mortgage Debt Near All Time Highs
January 14, 2011 By Leave a Comment
The total amount of mortgage debt has not dramatically changed since the peak of the residential real estate boom. Mortgage debt hit an all time high of $14.6 trillion in 2008 as the biggest financial crisis in modern history was just getting underway. Considering the changes that have occurred in the banking and housing industry […]
The Compelling Case For A New Wave Of Mortgage Defaults And Bank Failures
January 7, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Two new reports make a compelling case that the markets have not fully discounted the probability of another flood of residential foreclosures precipitated by the continuing decline in home values. The potential impact of price depreciation on the quality of loan portfolios casts serious doubt on the notion of a long term profit recovery for […]
Fed Puts Bank Dividend Payments On Hold Until Capital Adequacy Tested
November 18, 2010 By Leave a Comment
November 17, 2010 – As anticipated, the Federal Reserve Board issued guidelines to the nation’s largest bank holding companies (BHCs) for evaluating plans to pay stock dividends or repurchase common stock. The Fed stated that the guidelines are a conservative approach to “ensure that the BHCs hold adequate capital to maintain ready access to funding, […]
IMF – Risks To Real Estate And Banking Sector Remain Elevated
October 7, 2010 By Leave a Comment
October 6, 2010 – The International Monetary Fund warned of elevated risks to global economies, real estate and the banking sector in its latest World Economic and Financial Survey. The IMF’s pessimistic outlook for economic recovery zeroed in on the risks associated with excessive levels of sovereign, commercial and household debt in an environment of […]
Fannie Mae Housing Survey – Consumers Believe Prices Have Bottomed But Prefer To Rent
September 18, 2010 By 1 Comment
The large and continuing decline in asset values has been one of the greatest contributing factors to loan defaults and subsequent banking failures. Today’ release of Fannie Mae’s National Housing Survey provides good news for banks if consumers are correct in their belief that housing prices have bottomed. The survey reveals that 78% of Americans […]
Big Banks Accused Of Promoting Predatory Payday Lending
September 16, 2010 By Leave a Comment
September 15, 2010 – Big banks seem to be on the nation’s list of most hated institutions. After being blamed for causing the financial crash of 2008 through reckless lending, banks are now taking heat for prolonging the recession with excessively stringent lending standards. One industry to which banks have aggressively extended credit is now […]
Government Requests Banks To Buyback $30 Billion Of Defaulted Mortgages
September 15, 2010 By Leave a Comment
September 15, 2010 – Defaulted mortgage loans sold to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac during the peak years of the mortgage boom are now resulting in billion dollar losses for some of the largest banks in the country. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, now under the conservatorship of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), are […]