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Although credit card delinquency rates still hover near record lows, more consumers are starting to fall behind on their payments. The rate rose 0.71% in the third quarter, the first time it has moved up since 2009.

This week brought a bit of good news for some troubled homeowners in the form of two separate settlement activities. The FTC has begun mailing refund checks to 450,000 Countrywide customers, and Wells Fargo reached an $85 million settlement with the Fed that will provide relief to up to 10,000 customers.

The administration's proposed revamp of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is actually an offering of multiple policy options, essentially passing the political hot potato to the Republicans. Problem is, any fix is sure to make mortgages costlier, with potential harm to the housing market.

Allstate is suing Bank of America and its Countrywide Financial division over Countrywide's sale of $700 million in mortgage-backed securities to the insurance giant, alleging that Countrywide knew in advance that the assets would drop in value because of a high percentage of defaults.

General Motors Financial reported Tuesday its earnings nearly doubled in the third quarter compared to last year, aided by a drop in expenses.

Countrywide Financial Corp. co-founder Angelo Mozilo, along with two others, has reached a settlement agreement with the Securities and Exchange Commission related to charges of insider trading and civil fraud.

Angelo Mozilo, the former CEO of Countrywide Financial, is in talks with the SEC about a possible deal that could let him avoid standing trial for fraud charges, The Wall Street Journal said. Talks between Mozilo, two other former executives and the SEC seem to be moving towards a settlement, The...

Switzerland's UBS (UBS) will not take legal action against former employees for racking up the massive losses on subprime mortgages that left the company needing a bailout. Kaspar Villiger, the UBS chairman, said that company was looking to the future, according to The Associated Press. "What...

Goldman Sachs Group (GS) was sued by German bank Landesbank Baden-Wuerttemberg for allegedly mis-representing the credit quality of its mortgage-backed securities. The German bank ended up posting a $37 million loss on the investment. Sponsored Links Goldman was the placement agent for a...

General Motors will once again have its own in-house financing unit starting Friday, when the auto giant closes on its $3.5 billion purchase of AmeriCredit. The new unit, to be renamed General Motors Financial, will allow GM to offer consumers more financing and leasing options.