American Monetary Association

Tag: banking

  • Today’s Rates and the Down Payment Debate

    Is conventional wisdom crippling the housing recovery? It’s almost a given that a homebuyer can expect to produce a down payment of at least 20 percent in order to secure a mortgage. And the more a buyer can put down, the more they can save over the term of the loan. But given the unique…

  • The Fed’s Securities Buyup Ends: Why It Matters

    The Federal Reserve has stopped playing coy about plans for its program to stimulate the economy by buying up massive amounts of mortgage-backed securities. After months of maybe yes maybe no, the Fed has finally announced an end to the plan by mid-2012. While that announcement shouldn’t have come as a complete surprise, the news…

  • 5 Red Flags That Your Lender is Lying

    The mortgage industry has undergone intense scrutiny since the spate of risky loans that triggered the housing collapse of 2008. But in spite of lawsuit after lawsuit and numerous consumer protection regulations, the nation’s big lenders continue to ply their fraudulent practices on applicants for mortgages and refinancing. Now, the latest suit against Bank of…

  • What Happened to HAMP? Bank of America Strikes Again

    In the years since the well-publicized “mortgage meltdown” of a few years ago the health of the housing recovery has been measured to some extent by the state of the foreclosure market. But as affidavits filed in yet another lawsuit against Bank of America reveal, the perennial bad boy of fraudulent banking practices has been…

  • No Credit? No Problem, Say Many Americans

    In a world that seemingly runs on credit, more Americans, particularly recent college graduates, are skipping credit cards for the plastic equivalent of cash: the debit card. The shift, driven partly by choice and partly by economic and financial conditions, raises concerns that these creditless groups may be locked out of key areas of this…

  • The QM Rule: Coming Soon to a Lender Near You

    A busy housing market and encouraging stats on employment offer some optimistic news about the economy. But even with a rosier financial outlook, tighter lending standards are keeping many borrowers from qualifying for mortgages and other loans. And those standards will tighten even more come January 2014, when the new Qualified Mortgage Rule takes effect.…

  • What’s Behind the Lending Slowdown?

    Interest rates are still low, the housing market is rebounding, and employment stats are better – so why are loan approval rates down and fewer applications being processed? Financial experts point to a combination of factors stemming from the freewheeling days of the pre-crash housing market and the lawsuits and legislation that followed. As more…

  • Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac: Zombie Stocks and an Uncertain Future

    The fortunes of quasi-governmental mortgage superlenders Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have swooped from post-housing collapse bailout projects to a hot stock option – and back down again. As stock prices for both agencies reached gains of up to 150 percent, only to fall by 40 percent a day or so later, financial experts are…

  • How Can Foreclosures and Short Sales Affect Credit?

    Over the last few years, record numbers of homeowners have lost their houses to foreclosure or short sales, leaving a blot on their credit report that can linger for nearly a decade. But that blot may not be the obstacle to getting back into the housing market that it once was. Because foreclosures and short…

  • Major Lenders Face New Complaints

    Like the endlessly looping rerun of a really bad television show, the nation’s top five banks behaving badly are still stalling and misleading customers, even after a string of lawsuits, settlements and accusations of mismanagement. According to a new report in The Washington Post, new complaints charge the main players in the “robosigning” foreclosure abuse…

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