Loans digger

The maximum value of “conforming” loans eligible to be purchased and securitized by mortgage financing companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will remain at $417,000 for 2008 throughout most of the United States, the federal government announced Tuesday. Higher limits apply in Alaska, Hawaii, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and to properties including more […]

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Wells Fargo & Company, the nation’s second-largest mortgage lender, after Countrywide Financial, said yesterday that it would take a $1.4 billion fourth-quarter charge for losses it anticipated in connection with home loans.
The bank said that it would continue to provide home equity financing directly to customers, but that it would not originate or acquire […]

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Payday advances made by check-cashing companies before a state law was passed to regulate them in 2001 were illegal loans, the Florida Supreme Court ruled while reinstating a consumer lawsuit Thursday.
The case involved businesses that, for a fee, advance cash in exchange for checks they do not take to the bank until later, which […]

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Regulations on storefront lenders not strong enough, governor says
Gov. Jim Doyle signed a bill on Thursday to restrict predatory lenders who gouge homeowners with exorbitant rates, but he vetoed another measure that would have imposed limits on another type of controversial loan company.
Saying a bill that restricts so-called payday lenders wasn’t strong enough, Doyle vetoed […]

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The 60-year-old North Carolina resident was behind on her electric bill and short of cash to buy presents for her grandchildren that year, so she applied for a short-term “payday loan.”
That mistake locked Monti into a cycle of twice-monthly borrowing that ultimately cost her $1,780 to pay off $700 in loans - an effective annual […]

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When Julian Benedict enrolled in honours history and signed up for a student loan seven years ago, he didn’t realize his decision would condemn him to a decade of financial purgatory.
He also didn’t think the government would charge him well above prime interest rates for what he believed was a social service.
“I had no idea […]

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Pay-option ARMs got many subprime borrowers in trouble
At the epicenter of the mortgage earthquake was a lineup of exotic loans with newfangled payment terms. These were frequently offered to borrowers with poor credit who failed to understand the loans’ terms and often could not keep up with the payments. While these types of loans have […]

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It has a floor area of 22 square meters on a 36-square-meter lot, along a row of similarly sized socialized housing units.
He bought the house through a 25-year loan from the National Home Mortgage and Finance Corp. (NHMFC) and has been paying it off slowly through amortizations deducted by his company from his monthly paycheck.
Last […]

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Fannie Mae, the largest home lender in the US, suffered its biggest two-day share-price decline in 20 years amid investor concern that it had understated credit losses.
Its shares fell 5.5 per cent to $40.69 in New York on Friday and are down 17 per cent this week.
“Fannie Mae slumped as concerns surfaced that it may […]

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Growing numbers of consumers are having loan applications turned down, while a number of providers are pulling out of the market altogether.
The proportion of people being accepted for a personal loan has fallen every month since April as lenders tighten their lending criteria, according to financial website moneysupermarket.com.
The group said in April this year that […]

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