Pre-tax, pre-credit-cost revenue of $206.3 million, up 109.8 percent over prior quarter and 229.9 percent over prior year; Strong mortgage banking revenues, stable net interest margin and solid growth in core deposits; Significant improvement in delinquent loan trends TROY, Michigan, April 30, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Flagstar Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE:FBC) (the "Company"), the holding company for Flagstar Bank, FSB (the "Bank"), today reported a first quarter 2012 net loss applicable to common stockholders of $(8.7) million, an improvement from fourth quarter 2011 net loss of $(78.2) million and first quarter 2011 net loss of $(31.7) million. During the quart...

Ambac Withdraws From Litigation Over Countrywide Settlement Bloomberg Ambac Assurance Corp. is withdrawing from litigation over Bank of America Corp.'s proposed $8.5 billion mortgage bond settlement, according to a court filing. The bond insurer didn't give a reason for the withdrawal in a letter filed today in New York ...

(Reuters) - A top executive at Freddie Mac is leaving the mortgage buyer a year after he was appointed to head its single-family business.

"Our strategy is based on a lackluster recovery. So we are assuming it will be a lackluster economy, Pimco CEO Mohamed El-Erian tells CNBC's Closing Bell.

The Department of Justice announced today that it has settled its lawsuit against the Mortgage Guaranty Insurance Corporation (MGIC) for discriminating against women on maternity leave in violation of the Fair Housing Act. This settlement is the department's first involving discrimination against women and families in mortgage insurance.

More Americans are renting homes, and fewer are owning them; it's not as if this is news to anyone who follows the U.S. housing market, but a new report from the Census Bureau today really put an historical exclamation point on the trend.

The bipartisan JOBS Act arrives just in time to help small, community banks as they are "struggling to stay profitable in a period of low interest rates, stagnant lending and rising compliance costs from other new regulations," the Wall Street Journal reports. The JOBS (Jumpstart Our Business Startups) Act originated in the Financial Services Committee and is the culmination of an initiative started by Chairman Spencer Bachus last year to promote small business capital formation. The Wall Street Journal article takes particular note of one provision of the JOBS Act that raises the number of shareholders at which small banks must register with the SEC from 500 shareholders to 2,000. The change frees up small banks to raise capital by attracting new investors without taking on the red tape burdens that come with mandatory SEC registration and reporting.  Filing quarterly and annual financial reports alone with the SEC can cost small banks as much as $200,000 a year. This Wall Street Journal report follows: Small Banks Get a Freer Hand April 23, 2012 By ROBIN SIDEL Jim Stein no longer has to worry when one of his shareholders dies or gets divorced. As chief executive of Bank of Houston, Mr. Stein used to fret about tripping a regulation that required the community bank to register with the Securities and Exchange Commission if it has more than 500 shareholders. The bank, a unit of BOH Holdings Inc., carefully maintained its shareholder count at 350 because it wanted to avoid the cost and hassle of registering. But the level was always at risk of rising. "One shareholder could turn into four through unexpected consequences," Mr. Stein said. Now, Mr. Stein and other small-bank CEOs can stop counting shareholders as closely and turning potential investors away at the door. The JOBS Act signed into law this month includes a provision that raises the number of shareholders at which small banks must register with the SEC to 2,000. The JOBS Act aims...

(Reuters) - Bank of America Corp directors rejected allegations by unhappy shareholders that their proposed $20 million settlement of litigation over the purchase of Merrill Lynch & Co was made "on the cheap" and was the product of collusion.

MCLEAN, Va., April 30, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Freddie Mac (OTC: FMCC) today announced a new offering of Structured Pass-Through Certificates ("K Certificates"), which are multifamily mortgage-backed se...

Washington, April 30, 2012 -- Efforts to divide the banking industry between 'big' and 'small' won't solve the bad fit of regulations for a banking system far more diverse than a simplified division in two, according to new study released today by the American Bankers Association. 

Ally Says Unit's Bankruptcy Could Cost $1.25 Billion<br/>http://www.cnbc.com//id/47211677

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. housing market may still be in the doldrums, but funds that are betting on big gains in mortgage-related investments are a hot ticket this year on Wall Street.

The Financial Services Committee released its hearing schedule for the month of May on Friday. The Committee's schedule remains tentative and will depend upon witness availability and other factors that may require changes.  Therefore, each meeting will become final only when the official notice is distributed.  Additional information about each hearing, as well as a list of witnesses, will be announced at later dates. Unless otherwise noted, all hearings will take place in 2128 Rayburn House Office Building. May 7 at 9 a.m .   The Capital Markets and Government Sponsored Enterprises Subcommittee will hold a field hearing in Chicago at 9 a.m. local time to review real-estate-owned properties held by GSEs and the Federal Housing Finance Agency's pilot program to rent these properties.  The hearing will take place at the Dirksen Federal Building - Room 1903, 219 South Dearborn Street in Chicago. May 8 at 10 a.m.   The Domestic Monetary Policy and Technology Subcommittee will examine legislative proposals to reform the Federal Reserve System. May 9 at 10 a.m.   The Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit Subcommittee will examine the impact Dodd-Frank Act regulations are having on small banks' lending and investment activities. May 9 at 2 p.m.   The Insurance, Housing and Community Opportunity Subcommittee will examine the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage program, the Federal Housing Administration's reverse mortgage insurance program that allows borrowers 62 or older to convert home equity into a monthly income stream, lump sum payment, or line of credit.  May 10 at 10 a.m.   The International Monetary Policy and Trade Subcommittee will hold a hearing on the consequences of requiring Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) registrants to provide disclosures about the use of minerals from the Congo region. May 16 at 10 a.m.   The Financial Institutions and Consumer...