Nevada Suit Could Halt Thousands of Foreclosures
Nevada Suit Could Halt Thousands of Foreclosures
October 4, 2009, United Press International
A Reno law firm is preparing a class action lawsuit on behalf of Nevada homeowners who face foreclosure by a surrogate company that represents thousands of mortgage owners but doesn't actually own the loans themselves. If they succeed, the fallout could halt foreclosures. The company, known as Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems (MERS), was created by the mortgage industry years to keep track of the ownership of mortgages that are packaged inside of mortgage pools and often subject to in a series of transactions. This based in Reston, Virginia company didn't own the mortgages it registered, but it was listed in public records either as a nominee for the actual owner of the note or as the original mortgage holder. Some 60 million loans are registered in the name of MERS.
Banks Bite Bullet on Loans
October 1, 2009, Wall Street Journal
Banks and loan investors are starting to bite the bullet and lower the principal due on home mortgages for some struggling borrowers, a new report from bank regulators shows. That's good news for some homeowners, but may portend more write-offs over the next few years for banks and other lenders now wading through hundreds of thousands of applications for loan modifications. The tradeoff for banks is that by taking the hit now they can boost their chances of being repaid.
New Round of Foreclosures Looms in U.S.
October 3, 2009, Houston Chronicle
Millions of adjustable-rate mortgages are going to reset in the coming years, possibly to higher interest rates, creating the prospect of a new round of foreclosures. About 10 percent of all mortgages in this country are scheduled to adjust in the next few years, with the numbers peaking in mid- to late 2011, according to First American CoreLogic. Those loans are worth about $1 trillion, and nearly 20 percent of the borrowers who have them are already seriously behind on their monthly payments.
3 More Bank Failures Bring U.S. Tally to 98 in 2009
October 2, 2009, Market Watch
Three more banks were closed by regulators Friday, bringing the number of U.S. bank failures this year to 98 thanks to the lingering credit crunch. Warren, Mich., Bank had $538 million in assets and $501 million in deposits as of July 31, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Jennings State Bank, Spring Grove, Minn., was the fourth Minnesota bank to fail this year. Southern Colorado National Bank of Pueblo had total assets of $39.5 million and total deposits of $31.5 million, the FDIC said. Legacy Bank of Wiley, Colo., will assume all of the bank's deposits, the FDIC said