All posts by Colin Robertson
Fieldstone Mortgage Files for Bankruptcy
Fieldstone Mortgage Company, which halted most of its lending operations two weeks ago, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection at a U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Baltimore on Friday. According to documents filed with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District ... Read More »
US Thrift Earnings Sink, OTS to Announce Loan Mod Proposal
The combined net income of 831 thrifts plunged 84 percent to $704 million in the third quarter, down from $4.29 billion a year earlier, the Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS) reported today. Third-quarter earnings were also down a staggering 82 ... Read More »
Countrywide Downgraded as GSEs May Purchase Less
Fox-Pitt analyst Howard Shapiro downgraded Countrywide Financial (CFC) to “In Line from “Outperform” today, noting that the government-sponsored entities who buy many of the top lender’s loans could clamp up. Freddie Mac, who reported a $2 billion loss earlier this ... Read More »
H&R Block CEO Exits as Option One Sale Falters
H&R Block president and CEO Mark Ernst resigned Tuesday as the prospect of selling its money-losing subprime mortgage unit Option One looked increasingly bleak. Ernst will be replaced by Richard Breeden, a former SEC chairman who currently heads a hedge ... Read More »
Freddie Mac’s $2 Billion Loss
Freddie Mac announced third quarter earnings this morning, chalking a $2 billion loss, or $3.29 a share, compared to a loss of $715 million, or $1.17 a share in the third quarter of 2006. “The increased net loss, year-over-year, was ... Read More »
Impac Delays Third Quarter Filing, Expects Greater Loss
Irvine, California-based Impac Mortgage Holdings said today that its third quarter earnings report would be delayed, and though it couldn’t provide a “reasonable” estimate, expected a greater loss than a year ago. The mortgage lender, which expects to file the ... Read More »
Freddie Mac to Add, Raise Fees for Higher Risk Loans
Freddie Mac will begin charging mortgage lenders between 0.75% and 2% for loans its buys which exceed 70 percent loan-to-value, and fall below a credit score of 680. Freddie Mac’s changes are “in response to continuing volatility and turmoil in ... Read More »
WaMu Tightening Mortgage Guidelines
Washington Mutual has made a series of changes to its guidelines for both retail and wholesale mortgage loan origination. Probably most significant is the move to make mortgage broker-originated jumbo option-arms Full doc only, which should eliminate some of the ... Read More »
ResCap May Be Sailing Towards Bankruptcy
As the lending environment shows no signs of a turnaround, GMAC’s mortgage unit ResCap is rapidly declining in value, to the point where it could fall into default on certain banking agreements. GMAC has already infused the ailing mortgage unit ... Read More »
