Consumerist
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consumer protection
Here Comes The Consumer Financial Protection Agency!
Shhh, everyone, gather near and listen to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner deliver the most beautiful, wonderful mandate we could give to a new federal agency: "The agency will have only one mission—to protect consumers." And with that, the Treasury Department sent to Congress legislation that will create the brand new Consumer Financial Protection Agency. More » -
oversight
Obama To Call For Financial Watchdog Agency
Tomorrow, President Obama is expected to call for the creation of a new watchdog agency that would help protect consumers from abusive credit card, mortgage, banking practices. The banking industry is not happy about the idea, reports CNN. But hey, they're just looking out for us: "It's bad for consumers," a banking industry lobbyist told the network. Oh, well, never mind then, and pass me some more delicious subprime! More » -
interest rates
Interest Rates Will Rise Within The Year, Markets Bet
As growing global economic optimism begins to build, the market is betting that the Fed will raise interest rates by the end of this year. This will mean mortgages will get more costly and credit card APRs will rise, but the interest you make off your savings account will go up. [Bloomberg] (Photo: Ben Popken) -
foreclosures
Your Member Of Congress Can Help Renegotiate Your Mortgage
If your bank isn't willing to renegotiate your mortgage, see if your Member of Congress can't give them a little push. Maxine Waters (D-CA) rings up the C.E.O.s of Bank of America and Wells Fargo on her constituents' behalf, while Elijah Cummings (D-MD) hired a staffer who's helping more than 120 constituents avoid foreclosure. More » -
recession watch
First-Time Home Buyers: Use $8k Tax Credit For Down Payments Or Closing Costs?
BusinessWeek has an interesting article about a little known program that will allow first-time home buyers (technically, those who have not owned a home in three years) to use the 8k tax credit to offset down payments or closing costs. More » -
how to
Tax-Saving Moves For 14 Big Life Events
Life is full of surprises and challenges. Luckily, there's a tax form for just about all of them. Via Kiplinger's, here's 14 major life events that allow for smart tax-saving moves, and how to make those moves. More » -
ameriquest
Judge Slaps Ameriquest Hard For Selling Mortgage, Then Pretending To Still Own It
Ameriquest originated a mortage, securitized it, and sold it. Then pretended it still owned the mortgage to a U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge. Whoops. More » -
loan modifications
65% Of Modified Loans Will Default Again Anyway, Study Predicts
Many homeowners that couldn't afford their home the first time around, can't afford it the second or third, a new study finds. Fitch Ratings predicts that 55-65% of home loans getting modified will end up at least 60 days behind within a year. The percentage is even higher for those in subprimes... More » -
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mortgages
WSJ Asks, "Is Your Home A Good Investment?"
Brett Arends at The Wall Street Journal has compared Case-Shiller house price data to annual inflation rates, and speculates that owning a home may not be a very good investment. "You can often do better on long-term inflation protected government bonds," he writes. More » -
incompetence
Hank Paulson Admits He Never Really Understood How Mortgage-Backed Securities Worked
Here's more proof that the people who probably should have known how they were making all that housing bubble money never did—even those who personally made tens of millions off of it. The Business blog at The Atlantic notes a quote Hank Paulson, former Goldman Sachs CEO and Treasury Secretary, gave Newsweek: "I didn't understand the retail market; I just wasn't close to it." More » -
personal finance
Seth Green Gives Sound Financial Advice In Special Cribs Clip
Seth Green takes you on a tour of his crib in this clip from Un-Broke, a financial program airing next Friday on ABC. "BOOM! That's math all over your face!" More » -
freddie mac
Acting CFO Of Freddie Mac Found Dead This Morning
David Kellermann, a former Freddie Mac senior vice president who had been serving as the acting chief financial officer of the mortgage buying company since its takeover by the federal government last September, was found "hanging in the basement of his Reston home, dead from an apparent suicide" early this morning. Police were called to his home by someone inside the house at about 5 am today and found Kellermann's body. More » -
bribes
AmTrust Offers Homeowner $50 To Voluntarily Close HELOC
Here's a new tactic we haven't seen before: mortgage originator AmTrust called blogger BeThisWay and offered her $50 to voluntarily close her home equity line of credit (HELOC), possibly in response to the recent class action lawsuit against them for illegally closing HELOCs. She writes, "Well, I'd like to keep my HELOC. But I have to figure out AmTrust's next move. What will they do if not enough people voluntarily surrender their HELOCs? Are cancellations next? Am I better off taking the $50 now, or waiting, hoping they don't cancel it?"
"AmTrust says, "We love you! Really!"" [JustShootMeNow]
(Photo: Caitlinator) -
mortgages
Chase and Citi Shut Door On Mortgage Brokers
You're cut off! JPMorgan Chase and Citi announced they'll no longer accept mortgages submitted by mortgage brokers. The move seems to be a way for the banks to exercise more control over the loans they undertake. At first blush, this sounds like a good thing, for banks to be looking their borrowers in the eye, a throwback to the days when credit was earned instead of splooged out like candy in a parade (days epitomized in this 1950's short, "The Wise Use of Credit," posted inside...) On the other hand, it could be more just a way to snag market share and shut out the competition, which can lead to higher interest rates, borrowing costs, fees, and lower service. More »
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global recession
"Iceland Is No Longer A Country, It's A Hedge Fund"
Vanity Fair's April cover story is on Iceland's banking massacre — detailing how the the tiny, well-to-do country committed "one of the single greatest acts of madness in financial history." More » -
housing crisis
Report: Loan Modifications To Date Haven't Been That Effective
A new government report provides a reason why default rates for modified home loans have remained fairly high: in many cases, lenders aren't actually modifying the loans by very much.
Fewer than half of loan modifications made at the end of last year actually reduced borrowers' payments by more than 10 percent... [while] nearly one in four loan modifications in the fourth quarter actually resulted in increased monthly payments.
More » -
foreclosures
Fannie And Freddie Can Foreclose Again
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac can foreclose on people's houses again. There was much fanfare when they were banned from doing so back in December, but not a peep on March 31st when the moratorium ended. Funny, that. [The Washington Independent] (Photo: Colin Tobin)
mortgages
Mortgage rates are at a record low of 4.78%, according to Freddie Mac. [
New York, 2:42 AM
Mon Jul 6
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