Bernanke: Fed Increasing Oversight Beyond Banks
The Fed has broadened its oversight beyond banks and now monitors a wide-range of financial institutions that could hasten another crisis, Chairman Ben Bernanke said Friday.
subprime mortgages
S&P Expects U.S. Lawsuit Over Its Mortgage Ratings
The U.S. government is expected to file civil charges against Standard & Poor's Ratings Services, alleging that it improperly gave high ratings to mortgage debt that later plunged in value and helped fuel the 2008 financial crisis.
Bank of America Earnings Shrink Due to Mortgage Settlements
Bank of America says its fourth-quarter earnings shrank as it cleaned up old problems from its mortgage unit, settling one case with Fannie Mae and another with the government. But the modestly positive results still beat the expectations of analysts.
CFPB Unveils New Federal Rules to Curb Risky Mortgages
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is laying out the nation's first rules aimed at ensuring that mortgage borrowers can afford the loans they take out. Among the new regulations are bans on the risky "interest-only" and "no documentation" loans that helped inflate the housing bubble.
B of A Reaches Settlement with Fannie Mae on Risky Mortgages
Bank of America has reached a settlement with Fannie Mae on residential mortgage loans sold by the bank and its Countrywide unit to the agency ahead of the nation's 2008 financial crisis. The settlement includes a $3.6 billion payment to Fannie Mae.
Bank of America Beats the Street with a Narrow Profit
Bank of America said Wednesday that it narrowly turned a profit from July through September, good enough to beat Wall Street expectations. The bank earned $340 million in the quarter, which works out to a fraction of a penny per share. But financial analysts expected an 11-cent loss.
JPMorgan Hit With Fraud Lawsuit Over Bear Stearns Securities
The New York attorney general's office has hit JPMorgan Chase & Co. with a civil lawsuit, alleging that investment bank Bear Stearns -- prior to its collapse and subsequent sale to JPMorgan in 2008 -- perpetrated massive fraud in deals involving billions in residential mortgage-backed securities.
Why World Markets Focus on Tiny Jackson Hole, Wyo.
Every August, the world's financial markets shift their attention from the centers of global commerce to a mountain valley in northwest Wyoming. On Friday, they will hear a speech by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke. So how did Jackson Hole, Wyo., come to wield such outsize importance in global economic affairs?
Treasury Tightens Up Terms of Fannie and Freddie Bailout Deal
The government is changing the terms of its bailout agreement with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in a way that will shrink the holdings of the two mortgage giants more quickly and will require payment to the government of all quarterly profits the companies earn.
Fannie Mae Posts $2.2 Billion Net Gain for Second Quarter
Fannie Mae earned $2.2 billion from April through June, its second quarterly gain in net income since it was taken over by the government during the 2008 financial crisis.
Private Student Loans: Subprime Mortgages of the College World
Student loan debt is a $1 trillion issue today, but according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, one fairly small part of the student loan market appears to be most responsible for many of the problems borrowers face: private student loans.
Study: Private Student Loans Parallel Subprime Mortgage Lending
Risky lending caused private student loan debt to balloon in the past decade, leaving many Americans struggling to pay off loans that they can't afford, a government study says.
Did Warren Buffett Make a Bad Call on Bank of America?
When Warren Buffett announced in August that he would spend $5 billion to snap up Bank of America shares, investors cheered. Surely this must mean that we've seen the end of the bad news from America's biggest bank, right? Wrong. So did the Oracle of Omaha blunder?
Why Bank of America Will Never Be Great Again
Bank of America did the right thing this week, nixing its notorious $5 a month debit card fee before it began. But B of A can't win, and even now, financial journalists are wondering how it will find ways to nickel and dime its way back from this week's fee retreat at the expense of its customers.