The Senate has confirmed David Stevens to be the new Federal Housing Administration commissioner and he is expected to begin work at the mortgage insurance agency on Monday. Mr. Stevens' nomination has been help up for several months due to alleged Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act violations by his former employer Long & Foster — a mid-Atlantic real estate brokerage firm. The RESPA complaints did not name Mr. Stevens and HUD secretary Shaun Donovan continued to support Mr. Stevens, claiming his executive experience at Freddie Mac and Wells Fargo Home Loan is needed at FHA. Meanwhile, FHA commissioner Brian Montgomery finally stepped down on July 3 after it was clear the Mr. Stevens would be confirmed. Mr. Montgomery was appointed to the FHA post by former President Bush and he was asked to stay by the Obama administrations until his successor is confirmed. "I was pleased to be able to serve the Obama Administration as a holdover, which is exactly what Secretary Donovan did back in 2001 in the early months of the Bush Administration," Mr. Montgomery said in a farewell note. "Having worked for Secretary Donovan for the past 5 ½ months, I want to tell you that he is a man of great vision and commitment to the causes that HUD champions," Mr. Montgomery said.
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In its latest financial stability report, the Federal Reserve found that asset prices continue to exceed underlying fundamentals and leverage levels remain high, especially by hedge funds.
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The Long Island-based regional bank, which reported another quarterly loss Friday, continues to hire in the commercial-and-industrial lending sphere as it seeks to diversify its commercial real estate-heavy business.
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The lender's parent also said it is actively in preparation to move forward on plans to unlock equity value in 2025, with a Newrez spinoff among its options.
April 25 -
Doug Duncan may be retired from Fannie Mae, but not from the housing market—his new firm is ramping up with writing, speaking, and advisory work.
April 25 -
The way mortgage firms address distressed military borrowers will become less regimented as the Veterans Affairs Servicing Purchase program gets phased out.
April 25 -
The trend is not the norm but there are growing opportunities to buy for less in some areas many people gravitate to, real-estate brokerage Redfin found.
April 24