Housing Market, Banks | featured news

The number of U.S. homes taken back by banks through foreclosure hit a record high in the second quarter, even as lenders delayed more homes from entering the process through short sales and loan modification efforts, according to data to be released Thursday.

Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein, in written testimony prepared for a Senate hearing on Tuesday, said his firm "certainly did not bet against our clients."

Recently released emails show how Goldman Sachs built its mortgage business by closely working with lenders such as Washington Mutual and Long Beach, two firms that a Senate review said "polluted the financial system" with souring loans.

A Senate investigation into the financial crisis has found that Goldman Sachs, the storied Wall Street investment bank, sought to profit from the historic decline in housing prices by betting against the US mortgage market.

A record number of U.S. homes were lost to foreclosure in the first three months of this year, a sign banks are starting to wade through the backlog of troubled home loans at a faster pace, according to a new report....

Top officials say Washington Mutual was largely the victim of the housing downturn. But two former WaMu risk officers tell a Senate panel the failed savings and loan took too many chances.

Underwater on their mortgages and angry at banks, more borrowers are choosing to hand over the keys, even if they can afford the payments. Wynn Bloch has always dutifully paid her bills and socked away money for retirement.

Borrowing on the home for quick cash is a lot harder than it used to be in the United States, and it's causing headaches for homeowners, banks and the economy.

Serious delinquencies among U.S. prime mortgages rose nearly 20 percent in the third quarter from the prior quarter, banking regulators said on Monday.

A growing number of homeowners are considering a "strategic default," walking away from their mortgages not out of necessity but because they believe it is in their best financial interests.