Freddie Mac

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Fannie Mae Needs Another $7.8B

Taxpayer bill for mortgage firm's rescue now $94B

(Newser) - In a sign that the US housing market is still in deep, deep trouble, Fannie Mae is tapping the Treasury for another $7.8 billion to stay afloat. The mortgage finance company posted a loss of $5.1 billion for the third quarter of this year, its 16th loss in...

10 Fannie, Freddie Execs Rake in $13M in Bonuses

Meanwhile, Fannie employees suspended amidst federal probe

(Newser) - Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac execs banked Wall Street-esque paychecks this year for meeting what Politico terms “modest performance targets” in modifying troubled mortgages. Ten top executives at the two firms received a combined $12.79 million in bonuses, agency records show, and that’s not counting a second...

Feds: Do-Nothing Fannie Mae Knew of Foreclosure Abuses in '03

But oversight will be 'tightened' by end of next year

(Newser) - Mortgage officials at Fannie Mae knew eight years ago of possibly illegal foreclosures by law firms they employed—but did nothing to stop them, according to a federal report. Fannie Mae's own investigation concluded that Florida attorneys were "routinely filing false pleadings and affidavits" to improperly foreclose on...

Feds Poised to Sue Banks Over Mortgages


 Feds Sue 
 Big Banks 
 Over Mortgages 
UPDATED

Feds Sue Big Banks Over Mortgages

US accuses them of dodging due diligence as crisis fallout spreads

(Newser) - The Federal Housing Finance Agency—the agency behind Fannie Mae and Freddy Mac—has filed suit against more than a dozen big banks for their role in the mortgage meltdown mess. The feds, seeking billions in compensation, accuse the banks of misrepresenting the quality of mortgage securities, reports the New ...

US May Let Millions Refinance at 4%

Proposal could save homeowners $85B annually

(Newser) - Help could be on the way for struggling homeowners with government-backed mortgages: The Obama administration is considering a proposal that would allow such homeowners to refinance their mortgages at today's interest rates, which hover around a low 4%. Many homeowners can’t currently refinance because they owe more than...

Obama Looks to Keep Feds in Mortgage Biz

Prez reportedly rejects calls to pull gov't out of housing market

(Newser) - Despite two White House proposals floated earlier in the year to get the federal government out of the housing market, President Obama will likely opt for the third option: reforming the housing market over the next decade but continuing to extend federal loan subsidies and insure most mortgages, reports the...

S&P Downgrades Fannie and Freddie, Too

And any other agencies linked to long-term US debt

(Newser) - Standard & Poor's has downgrade fever. The ratings agency today downgraded the credit ratings of mortgage lenders Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and a host of other agencies linked to long-term US debt, including farm lenders; long-term government-backed debt from 32 banks and credit unions; and three major clearinghouses,...

Home Prices Have Fallen 57 Months in a Row

Home values fell 3% in first quarter of 2011

(Newser) - There's still no sign of a housing market bottom, as continuing home foreclosures caused housing values to fall 3% in the first quarter of 2011 over the previous quarter, their biggest dive since late 2008, reports the Wall Street Journal . "We expected December and January to be bad,...

Fannie, Freddie Execs Improperly Paid Big Bucks
Fannie, Freddie Execs Improperly Paid Big Bucks
says report

Fannie, Freddie Execs Improperly Paid Big Bucks

Government hasn't been transparent enough, report complains

(Newser) - The federal government has improperly paid the CEOs of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac huge salaries while the housing giants have been under government control, the Inspector General of the Federal Housing Finance Agency concludes in a new report. The CEOs were paid a total of $17.1 million in...

Treasury to Sell Off $142B in Toxic Assets, Make Billions

'Notably improved' market means $15B-$20B profit for taxpayers

(Newser) - The Treasury Department will start selling the $142 billion portfolio of mortgage-backed securities, the "toxic" assets it bought up during the financial crisis , the Wall Street Journal reports. The securities are mostly 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage-backed securities guaranteed by either Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. And having bought the securities...

SEC Poised to Charge Fannie, Freddie Execs

But regulatory agency disagrees, and nothing has yet been filed

(Newser) - The SEC is making moves toward charging current and former Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac executives, sources tell the Washington Post , but the Federal Housing Finance Agency disagrees with the move. The SEC has sent notices to at least four senior executives over the past eight weeks warning them they...

US: OK, Not Everyone Needs to Own a Home

Plan to dissolve Fannie and Freddie marks a shift in philosophy

(Newser) - The federal government is having a change of heart about what constitutes the American Dream. It long pushed the notion that people should own homes—one of the factors blamed for the housing mess—but a new proposal to dissolve Fannie and Freddie marks a pullback from that philosophy, reports...

White House: Let's Kill Fannie, Freddie

Obama administration wants to get out of the mortgage market

(Newser) - The Obama administration will propose dissolving Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and reducing the federal government’s role in the mortgage market, sources tell the Wall Street Journal . The White House is set to release three plans for moving forward without the government-owned mortgage giants, which originated nine out of...

Taxpayers Footed Fannie, Freddie's $160M Legal Bill

Americans spend $24.2 million to defend executives

(Newser) - Taxpayers have spent more than $160 million defending Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in fraud lawsuits since the government took over the companies in 2008. The closely guarded cost was released last week after Rep. Randy Neugebauer requested the figures last year. Some $132 million of the total went to...

Issa Reveals His Hit List
Issa Reveals
His Hit List

Issa Reveals His Hit List

WikiLeaks, Fannie Mae among planned investigations

(Newser) - Rep. Darrell Issa is coming out swinging: Congress’s new government oversight chief has placed WikiLeaks, FDA recalls, and much, much more on his long list of planned investigations, according to an outline of committee hearing topics obtained by Politico . Other matters on Issa's slate include corruption in Afghanistan; the...

Issa Vows to Investigate Bush, Too
Issa Vows to Investigate Bush, Too

Issa Vows to Investigate Bush, Too

GOP rep with keys to House Oversight wants to probe everything

(Newser) - Darrell Issa’s been chomping at the bit to investigate President Obama, and as the next chairman of the House Oversight Committee, he’s about to get his chance. But Issa says he’s not going to let George W. Bush off the hook, either. “I’m going to...

Tab for Fannie, Freddie Could Soar to $259B

That would be nearly twice what they've received so far

(Newser) - The government spelled out today just how much the most expensive rescue of the financial crisis will end up costing taxpayers—as much as $259 billion for mortgage buyers Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. By contrast, the combined bailouts of financial companies and the auto industry have cost taxpayers roughly...

Florida Law Firm Bribed Workers to Forge Foreclosures

...and big bribes at that: jewelry, cars, houses

(Newser) - Employees at Florida’s largest “foreclosure mill” routinely altered and forged documents to speed up the foreclosure process—and were rewarded with jewelry, cars, and other lavish gifts as a result, witnesses tell Florida’s Attorney General. Three former employees of the law offices of David J. Stern have...

Foreclosure Scandal Messing Up Home Sales
Foreclosure Scandal Messing Up Home Sales
UPDATED

Foreclosure Scandal Messing Up Home Sales

Thousands of sales thrown into limbo

(Newser) - Hundreds of thousands of foreclosures have been thrown into limbo in the wake of revelations that major lenders didn’t properly review the foreclosure documents, creating a big mess for people trying to buy those homes, the New York Times reports. JPMorgan and GMAC have suspended foreclosures in the 23...

Lender Admits Blindly Approving Foreclosures

Evictions suspended over huge 'robosigning' scandal

(Newser) - Foreclosure eviction proceedings around the country have ground to a halt after a mortgage company employee admitted to signing off on foreclosures without looking at them. The head of foreclosure document processing at Ally Financial, the nation's fourth-largest home lender, was required to verify information and sign documents in the...

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