15 Lenders Subpoenaed

15 Lenders were recently served suboenas due to high FHA-backed default rates on mortgage loans. Kenneth Donahue, HUD's Inspector General, plans to get to the bottom of why these lenders in particular had such high default rates.

Mortgage Bankers Association's CEO, John Courson, was pleased with the news: "We're concerned about the viability of the program and we want to make sure that the bad apples and the bad players, frankly, are eliminated," he said.

The list of subpoenaed companies includes:

1. First Tennessee Bank N.A, Memphis, Tenn.
2. Alethese LLC, of Lakeway, Texas
3. Security Atlantic Mortgage Co., of Edison, N.J.
4. Pine State Mortgage Corp., of Atlanta
5. Birmingham Bancorp Mortgage Corp., of West Bloomfield, Mich.
6. Alacrity Financial Services LLC, of Southlake, Texas
7. Assurity Financial Services LLC, of Englewood, Colo.
8. D and R Mortgage Corp., of Farmington, Mich.
9. Webster Bank, of Cheshire, Conn.
10. Mac-Clair Mortgage Corp., of Flint, Mich.
11. Americare Investment Group Inc., of Arlington, Texas
12. 1st Advantage Mortgage, of Lombard, Ill.
13. American Sterling Bank, of Independence, Mo.
14. Sterling National Mortgage Co., Inc., of Great Neck, N.Y.
15. Dell Franklin Financial LLC, of Columbia, Md

Source: The Associated Press, Alan Zibel (01/12/2010)

Low Rates to Continue?

Bernanke was recently quoted that rates would stay low for "an extended period of time". That's good news for consumers, but it should also be noted that Bernanke is hoping for a second term.