Jul 12th 2011 3:30PM
Since the housing market crash, loans have been hard to come by for many folks, even those with decent credit. But for borrowers with less-than-stellar credit, getting a mortgage has been well-nigh impossible. The Wall Street Journal is out today with news that a handful of private investment firms are stepping into the... Continue Reading »
Dec 24th 2010 9:00AM
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were in the news a lot this year. For starters, there was the presidential summit in August, to solicit ideas for what to do with the ailing government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs for short). That was followed by midterm-election wrangling over whether to replace the struggling mortgage giants... Continue Reading »
Dec 14th 2009 9:45AM
After months of delay, on Friday the House of Representatives passed its "Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act," 223-202. That fairly tight vote should tell you something: this reform is a 1279-page tissue of compromise. Let's leave the first part to others to dissect, for now, and focus on what "consumer... Continue Reading »
Dec 11th 2009 9:12AM
When Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Wall Street mortgage-backed securities machine all went the way of King Kong and Godzilla last year, that left just one home finance giant standing: the Government National Mortgage Association, or Ginnie Mae. Ginnie Mae bundles together mortgages into securities, and backs their sale... Continue Reading »
