Lawyers

• U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Prohibits Judicial Review Against FHFA in Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac

  U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has concluded to bar judicial review against the Federal Housing Finance Agency of two mortgage lenders after 2008 crisis.

• US regulators to allow Freddie and Fannie to reduce debt arrears

  The US regulators announced that they would allow Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae to eliminate debt balances for several borrowers whose loan worth more than their assets. The debt reduction plan would serve as a final chance for earnestly delinquent debtors to save their homes from foreclosure.

• Judge rules SEC could take Fannie Mae ex-exec Daniel Mudd to trial over risk loans

  A judge ruled that the Securities and Exchange Commission could take Daniel Mudd to trial over hiding Fannie Mae's exposure to risky loans. Mudd previously appealed to have the trial dismissed over lack of evidence.

• M&T Bank in talks to settle U.S. probe on its mortgage lending operations

  M&T Bank Corp said on Wednesday that it is in talks to settle a probe by U.S. federal authorities on its mortgage lending operations.

• U.S. agency seeks $1.1 billion as Nomura, RBS face mortgage bond trial

  A U.S. housing regulator urged a federal judge on Monday to award it $1.1 billion due to false claims made about "crap" mortgages underlying securities sold by Nomura Holdings Inc to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac ahead of the 2008 financial crisis.

• U.S. housing regulator signals guarantee fee decision this quarter

  The top U.S. housing regulator on Tuesday said his agency would make a decision by the end of this quarter on fees Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac charge lenders for guaranteeing mortgages.

• Fannie, Freddie must study 'alternate' credit scoring: regulator

  Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's regulator hinted on Wednesday that credit standards could be eased when it laid out the 2015 goals for U.S. mortgage companies.

• Fannie Mae settles shareholder lawsuit for $170 million

  Fannie Mae (FNMA.OB) has reached a $170 million settlement of a lawsuit accusing it of misleading shareholders about its finances, risk management and mortgage exposure before it was seized by the U.S. government during the 2008 financial crisis.

• U.S. regulator targeting lower down payments on mortgages

  The regulator of Fannie Mae (FNMA.OB) and Freddie Mac (FMCC.OB) said on Monday it was developing rules to let Americans buy homes with down payments as low as 3 percent, part of a push to boost access to credit.

• Americans face post-foreclosure hell as wages garnished, assets seized

  Many thousands of Americans who lost their homes in the housing bust, but have since begun to rebuild their finances, are suddenly facing a new foreclosure nightmare: debt collectors are chasing them down for the money they still owe by freezing their bank accounts, garnishing their wages and seizing their assets.

• Morgan Stanley to resolve Fannie May, Freddie Mac securities sale fraud with $1.25 B settlement.

  The latest settlement Wall Street bank Morgan Stanley entered into with the Federal Housing Finance Agency has forced the financial institution to increase its allocation of litigation costs to $1.2 billion.