CHICAGO, IL (Marketwire) - The national credit card delinquency rate (the ratio of borrowers 90 or more days past due) increased slightly to 0.75% in Q3 2012 from 0.71% in Q3 2011. This rate had been 0.63% in Q2 2012, a seasonal low.

Fed's OIG Reviewing Supervision of JP Morgan After Loss Bloomberg The Federal Reserve's Office of Inspector General is conducting an "evaluation" of how the Fed Board and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York supervised JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s (JPM) chief investment office after losses exceeding $6.2 billion in the first ...

Could the talks to avoid the 'fiscal cliff' place the popular mortgage-interest deduction in the cross hairs?

Of over 135,000 eligible borrowers in New England, only 5% have applied for the Independent Foreclosure Review. If the review finds that financial injury occurred due to in the foreclosure process, the borrower may receive remediation of up to $125,000 plus equity. Borrowers have until December 31, 2012 to submit their review forms.

Ads by 19 Mortgage-Related Companies Probed by Regulators Businessweek U.S. regulators are investigating 19 mortgage-related companies over potentially misleading advertisements, including some that used Facebook Inc. (FB)'s website, the agencies announced today. "Misrepresentations in mortgage products can deprive ... and more »

We are revising the eligibility requirements for our Freddie Mac Relief Refinance Mortgages offering to base the expiration date of the offering on “Application Received Date” instead of the note date of the mortgage.

Today the FHA released its FY 2012 actuarial study and as documented by FHA Watch, the FHA’s financial condition continues to deteriorate.

As of December 1, 2012, the cash window will suspend the purchase of one-year CMT-indexed and LIBOR-indexed ARMs.

by Ethan Handelman, National Housing Conference Last Friday, HUD released the annual actuarial report for the Federal Housing Administration (FHA). It shows the capital reserve ratio at -1.44% (that's a negative). FHA may not need any additional capital, depending on economic conditions and the results of policy actions in progress, but it might need an infusion from Treasury. Given that FHA is providing essential (and otherwise quite scarce) mortgage capital during an historic housing downturn, we should read this report as better news than we might have gotten. We should also be open to a conversation about structural changes to FHA that make it more flexible and better able to fulfill its essential role. What does a negative capital reserve ratio mean? It's a comparison of FHA's current reserves of $30.1 billion set against $46.7 billion of expected losses on its current portfolio of single-family loans over the next 30 years. It excludes future income from new loans, which are performing far better than the 2007-2009 vintage that account for much of the losses. The full report also attempts to simulate some variation in economic conditions, but the future is as always difficult to predict. FHA might need an infusion from the Treasury. It's not necessary yet, and it may not be needed at all. The actuarial report doesn't take into account income to the fund coming in from new loans originated, and since FHA continues to do a brisk business as private capital remains a much smaller part of the mortgage market, that's real money. And if housing markets continue to improve, policy changes take effect, and loss mitigation efforts expand, losses may well be quite a bit less than anticipated. Indeed, we should be impressed that FHA is in as good a shape as it is, given that we have experienced the worst housing downturn since the insurance program was created. FHA remains an essential source of mortgage capital, particularly for borrowers without...

Today, along with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), our Office of Enforcement sent letters to a number of lenders concerning potential violations of the Mortgage Acts and Practices - Advertising (MAP) Rule, a new rule that took effect in August 2011. The MAP Rule addresses claims and statements in mortgage advertising that may be misleading [...]

The Fed chief acknowledged improvement in the housing market in a speech Thursday, but pointed to continued obstacles to its recovery.

Press Release

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve Bank of New York won the dismissal of former American International Group Inc Chief Executive Maurice "Hank" Greenberg's $25 billion lawsuit accusing it of acting unlawfully in bailing out the insurer during the 2008 financial crisis.

By VP of Pricing, Costing and Capital Deployment Mitchell Resnick Since joining Freddie Mac a year ago, I’ve spoken to many people about our flagship Multifamily securitization program. Most people understand and accept the need for such a program in today’s commercial real estate market. However, I still get a few questions about the benefits of securitization for borrowers, investors, and the American taxpayer whose investment in Freddie Mac has helped stabilize the single-family and multifamily mortgage markets. My response: securitization is the best vehicle we have for pairing our borrowers’ financing needs with the risk appetite and return requirements of a diverse group of capital markets investors. This allows us to offer our borrowers lower interest rates than traditional portfolio executions. In short, our securitization program is the best way to preserve taxpayer investment in Freddie Mac because it transfers risk away from the company while generating consistent profits. Read More

Citi to Cut More Jobs, Settle Lehman Dispute: Report<br/>http://www.cnbc.com//id/49883359

Greece Passes Last-Minute Budget Decrees to Appease Lenders<br/>http://www.cnbc.com//id/49883588