Financial Solution News

The Federal Reserve Board on Monday approved a final rule for home mortgage loans to better protect consumers and facilitate responsible lending. The rule prohibits unfair, abusive or deceptive home mortgage lending practices and restricts certain other mortgage practices. The final rule also establishes advertising standards and requires certain mortgage disclosures to be given to consumers earlier in the transaction.
The final rule, which amends Regulation Z (Truth in Lending) and was adopted under the Home Ownership and Equity Protection Act (HOEPA) , largely follows a proposal released by the Board in December 2007, with enhancements that address ensuing public comments, consumer testing, and further analysis.
"The proposed final rules are intended to protect consumers from unfair or deceptive acts and practices in mortgage lending, while keeping credit available to qualified borrowers and supporting sustainable homeownership," said Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke . "Importantly, the new […]

Original post by Admin

“OFHEO has been monitoring and continues to monitor closely Fannie Mae , Freddie Mac and the mortgage and financial markets. As one would expect, we are carefully watching the Enterprises’ credit and capital positions.
As I have said before, they are adequately capitalized, holding capital well in excess of the OFHEO-directed requirement, which exceeds the statutory minimums. They have large liquidity portfolios, access to the debt market and over $1.5 trillion in unpledged assets.
At the time of our March 2008 capital agreement with the Enterprises I said: `OFHEO will remain vigilant in supervising the safe and sound operations of these companies, and will act quickly to address any deficiencies that may arise. Furthermore, we recognize the need to ensure that their capital levels are strong, protecting them from unforeseen risks as the market recovers.’
Including the $7.4 billion Fannie Mae raised in May in accordance with our March agreement, […]

Original post by Admin

NEW YORK, April 15, 2008 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) — Beleaguered investors of Washington Mutual (NYSE:WM) were delivered more bad news by the company in Tuesday’s after-hours earnings announcement. The company reported a first-quarter loss of $1.14 billion and indicated that it expects Writedowns of $12 billion to $19 billion of its $187 billion portfolio of single family residential home loans in 3 to 4 years.
Litigation on behalf of Washington Mutual employees and 401(k) plan participants has commenced against the company for alleged violations of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) in the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington. If you are an employee of Washington Mutual and wish to discuss the investigation or have questions concerning this notice or your rights, please contact Scott+Scott (scottlaw@scott-scott.com, (800) 404-7770, (860) 537-5537), for more information. There is no cost or fee to you.
(more…)
Lenders With Problems 2007, Mortgage Industry […]

Original post by Admin

WAMU said that they wanted to, “Strengthening the Mortgage Industry” in a recent press release and now they need their mom to help them goto the bathroom.
They unveiled a program that they said would change the industry and they would now apply mortgage industry leadership standards. So what happened to this industry leadership?
They only NOW offered full disclosure to clients, maybe they were better off not telling clients about the mortgage they were getting.
On a serious note, it is too bad for their stockholders, the hundreds of employees they are letting go and the millions effected by their what we have all come to realize is actually a ‘Lack of Leadership’.

Here is their political spin in an effort to try to look good.

April 7, 2008, WaMu announced significant changes affecting our Home Loans business. As part of this
announcement, and consistent with the company’s retail focused strategy, WaMu has made the […]

Original post by Admin

The Federal Reserve Board and the Federal Open Market Committee on Wednesday released the attached minutes of the Committee meeting held on December 11, 2007 and of a conference call held on December 6, 2007.
The minutes for each regularly scheduled meeting of the Committee ordinarily are made available three weeks after the day of the policy decision and subsequently are published in the Board’s Annual Report. The summary description of economic and financial conditions contained in these minutes is based solely on the information that was available to the Committee at the time of the meeting.
FOMC minutes can be viewed on the Board’s web site at www.federalreserve.gov/fomc.
Minutes of Federal Open Market Committee, December 6 and 11, 2007 (121 KB PDF)
2008 Monetary Policy Releases
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Original post by Admin

On December 20, 2007, the Federal Reserve will offer $20 billion in 35-day credit through its Term Auction Facility. Additional information regarding the auction is listed below; the auction will be conducted as specified in this Announcement, Regulation A, and the terms and conditions of the Term Auction Facility (www.federalreserve.gov/monetarypolicy/taf.htm).
Description of Offering and Auction Parameters

Offering Amount:
$20 billion

Term:
35-day loan

Bid Submission Date:
December 20, 2007

Opening Time:
10 a.m. EST

Closing Time:
1 p.m. EST

Notification Date:
December 21, 2007

Settlement Date:
December 27, 2007

Maturity Date:
January 31, 2008

Minimum Bid Amount (per bid):
$10 million

Bid Increment
$100,000

Maximum Bid Amount (per institution):
$2 billion (10% of Offering Amount)

Minimum Bid Rate:
4.15 percent

Incremental Bid Rate:
0.001 percent

Minimum Award:
$10,000

Maximum Award:
$2 billion (10% of Offering Amount)

Submission of Bids
Participants must submit bids by phone to their local Reserve Bank between the Opening Time and Closing Time on the Bid Submission Date.
Notification
Summary auction results will be published on the website of the Board of Governors of the […]

Original post by Admin

By a 9-1 margin, the Federal Reserve cuts the key interest rates by 1/4 point.
The Federal Open Market Committee - FOMC decided today to lower its target for the federal funds rate 25 basis points to 4-1/4 percent.
Incoming information suggests that economic growth is slowing, reflecting the intensification of the housing correction and some softening in business and consumer spending. Moreover, strains in financial markets have increased in recent weeks. Today’s action, combined with the policy actions taken earlier, should help promote moderate growth over time.

Readings on core inflation have improved modestly this year, but elevated energy and commodity prices, among other factors, may put upward pressure on inflation. In this context, the Committee judges that some inflation risks remain, and it will continue to monitor inflation developments carefully.
Recent developments, including the deterioration in financial market conditions, have increased the uncertainty surrounding the outlook for economic growth and […]

Original post by Admin

Minneapolis, Minn., December 10, 2007–The Federal Reserve’s 2007 study of noncash payments released today revealed that in 2006 more than two-thirds of all U.S noncash payments were made electronically. From 2003 to 2006, the period covered by the study, all types of electronic payments grew while check payments decreased. The Federal Reserve’s 2004 Payments Study found that the number of electronic payments and check payments were roughly equal in 2003.
About 19 billion more electronic payments were made in 2006 than in 2003. In contrast, the number of checks paid fell by about 7 billion over the same period. Of the 93 billion noncash payments in 2006, about 63 billion were electronic and around 30 billion were checks.
Among the three main types of electronic payments, the annual use of debit cards increased by about 10 billion payments over the survey period to 25.3 billion payments in 2006. […]

Original post by Admin