MORTGAGE

Bank of America (BofA) has paid $2.8 billion to mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to settle claims that it had sold mortgages to them that did not meet specifications.

Banks seized more than a million U.S. homes in one year for the first time last year, despite a slowdown in the last few months as questions around foreclosure processing arose, a leading firm said on Thursday.

After repossessing more than a record 1 million homes in the U.S., banks are now poised to foreclosure on even more properties in 2011, according to Realty Trac Inc.

Applications for U.S. home mortgages increased last week as lending rates eased from recent highs, an industry group said on Wednesday.

U.S. import prices jumped in December as energy costs surged, a sign that while inflation may be tame domestically there are plenty of price pressures coming from overseas.

More than 2-million people in the United Kingdom have used their credit cards to pay their mortgage or rent in the last twelve months, a 50 percent increase from the prior year, according to Shelter, the British housing and homelessness charity.

In a ruling that may affect foreclosures nationwide, Massachusetts' highest court voided the seizure of two homes by Wells Fargo & Co and US Bancorp after the banks failed to show they held the mortgages at the time they foreclosed.

In a ruling that may affect foreclosures nationwide, Massachusetts' highest court voided the seizure of two homes by Wells Fargo & Co and US Bancorp after the banks failed to show they held the mortgages at the time they foreclosed.

Applications for U.S. home mortgages ebbed in the last two weeks of the year amid the holiday season as loan rates hovered around their highest levels in seven months, an industry group said on Wednesday.

Bank of America Corp agreed to settle outstanding claims on poorly underwritten mortgages it sold to government sponsored entities Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and said it will put aside $3 billion in the fourth quarter related to the claims.

U.S. home foreclosures jumped in the third quarter and banks' efforts to keep borrowers in their homes dropped as the housing market continues to struggle, U.S. bank regulators said on Wednesday.

China raised mortgage rates by 25 basis points on Sunday, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development said, the second increase this year, after benchmark interest rates increased on Saturday.

With the nation in the midst of a foreclosure crisis, the Department of Housing and Urban Development is shelling out $73 million in housing counseling grants to more than 500 national, regional and local organizations, so that they can help people stay in their homes or find new homes.

The U.S. home loan demand fell sharply in the week ended Dec.17, posting a decline for fourth straight weeks as the mortgage rates hit a six-month high.

An Obama administration task force examining allegations of fraud in the mortgage foreclosure process will deliver its findings next month, two top officials said on Monday.

The states of Arizona and Nevada sued Bank of America Corp on Friday, accusing the largest U.S. bank of routinely misleading consumers about home loan modifications.

Securities regulators have broadened their inquiry into the mortgage industry, asking big banks about the early stages of securitizing home loans, two sources familiar with the probe said.

U.S. regulators have opened a new line of inquiry in their mortgage foreclosure probe and are asking big Wall Street banks about the beginning stages of mortgage securitization, two sources familiar with the probe said.

The state of Arizona has sued Bank of America Corp alleging the lender consistently misled consumers about its home loan modification process, a source familiar with the situation said.

Bank of America Corp has started negotiating with powerful mortgage investors that accused the bank of failing to buy back bad home loans, in an apparent shift in the lender's stance.

Bank of America Corp on Wednesday said investors delayed a technical default on the bank over its mortgage servicing unit, allowing more time for talks about alleged contract violations.