Mortgage News

  Credit Agencies Sued Over Bankrupt Account Reporting
A lawsuit was filed Virginia on behalf of 47 Virginia plaintiffs who said their credit reports contain inaccurate information.

All of the plaintiffs have filed for bankruptcy.

But their credit reports contain records of debt that still appear active even though it has been discharged.

Over 1,000 Layoffs as Servicer Offices Close
The acquisition of HomeEq Servicing by Ocwen Financial Services has completed.

Ocwen said that it plans to close a facility in Raleigh, N.C., and eliminate 242 jobs.

Around 900 California employees are being laid off later this year as the company's facility in that state closes.<

Bank Performance Improves
On overall bank loan assets, delinquency of at least 90 days fell 4.8 percent, according to the Quarterly Banking Profile from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

It was the first quarterly decline since the beginning of 2006.

Quarterly earnings for the sector were $21.6 billion.

Banks lost $4.4 billion in the same period last year.

Activity Eases as Fixed Rates Fall
More downward movement in mortgage rates -- which were already at record lows -- wasn't enough to lift the Mortech-Mortgage Daily Mortgage Market Index higher.

For the week ended Wednesday, the index was 348, easing from 355 last week.

The decline in activity came despite that the conventional 30-year rate edged down to 4.317 percent from 4.320 percent last week.

Behind-the-Scenes Look at Collapse of Wachovia, WaMu
A Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. official testified before the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission about how the FDIC handled the insolvency of Washington Mutual Bank and Wachovia.

"In the case of WaMu, the FDIC had adequate time to develop strategies and understand the risks associated with those strategies," he said in prepared testimony.

"In the case of Wachovia, the FDIC wasn't informed until the weekend of its collapse and as a result, had very limited information that could be used to understand the market implications ... or to develop a resolution strategy."