One Million Borrowers May Get Mortgage Writedowns
One Million Borrowers May Get Mortgage Writedowns
By Margaret Chadbourn, Reuters, Jan 19, 2012
About one million American homeowners would get writedowns in the size of their mortgages under a proposed deal with banks over shady foreclosure practices, U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan said on Wednesday. The deal, which could be struck within weeks, would mark the largest cut in the mortgage load since the start of the credit crisis.
U.S. Housing Starts Dropped More Than Forecast in December
By Alex Kowalski, Bloomberg, Jan 19, 2012
Builders began work on fewer houses than forecast in December, capping the worst year on record for single-family home construction and signaling recovery in the industry will take time.
Housing starts dropped 4.1 percent to a 657,000 annual rate last month, reflecting a slump in multifamily dwellings, Commerce Department figures showed today in Washington.
US Bancorp Confirms Foreclosure Talks Extend To Regional Banks
By Dow Jones Newswires, Jan 18, 2012
U.S. Bancorp Inc. (USB) on Wednesday confirmed that negotiations between banks, regulators and state attorneys general to settle messy foreclosures now include regional banks. The comments are the first confirmation that the government's probe into botched foreclosure procedures — including the use of "robo-signing," in which employees approved documents without proper review —extends beyond the nation's five largest mortgage servicers — Ally Financial Inc., Bank of America Corp., Citigroup Inc., J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. and Wells Fargo & Co.
Federal-State Meeting Planned to Rally for Foreclosure Accord
By David McLaughlin, Bloomberg, Jan 18, 2012
U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan and a Justice Department official are set to meet with state attorneys general next week to rally support for a proposed settlement with banks over foreclosure practices, said the Iowa Attorney General’s Office. Materials about the proposed deal are being sent to all states, and Democratic attorneys general have been asked to meet on Jan. 23 with Donovan and Associate Attorney General Thomas Perrelli, said Geoff Greenwood, a spokesman for Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller. Also, read this Washington Post article.