Google has built built out its mortgage rate searches by launching a comparison tool for consumers. Lenders who want to be in searches must pay for the privilege. More Jumbo News Here is some company news of note. Springleaf, an offshoot of American General Finance, is planning to raise $500 million for nonconforming/non-agency loan financing. [...]

Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner is testifying before congress this morning about the AIG bailout in Fall 2008. At issue is whether AIG counterparties should have been paid in full for AIG’s obligations to them using government aid. As the testimony points out, Treasury and the Fed were mostly concerned about broad economic meltdown and had [...]

In a move that other states may take note of, in North Carolina, the N.C. Office of the Commissioner of Banks (NCCOB) is sending a message by announcing that it is proposing mortgage rules to help reduce foreclosures, to improve consumer protection and the functioning of the mortgage market, and to implement the S.A.F.E. Act. [...]

I guess this is how some borrowers feel when they lock a loan in a volatile market. Or maybe that is how any agent who has a lock with TBW feels. Today is the anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima, and the date that some are finding out yesterday’s news that a large lender is [...]

I was on a roller coaster over the weekend just when amusement park operator Six Flags declared bankruptcy. Talk about a thrill. They said that the company will keep its parks open at least for now (they had 25 million visitors in 2008) but according to the Washington Post, the company is carrying $2.4 billion [...]

We’ve already discussed why the last big wave of hysteria about AIG and resulting 90% bonus tax is deadly for big banks, now here’s the next hysteria wave says The Economist: Shocking though the bonuses have been, they pale in comparison with the $49.5 billion of payments that AIG has made to counterparties in its [...]

In the context of proposed legislation to tax Wall Street bonuses at 90%, Goldman Sachs head Lloyd Blankfein is reportedly going to return $10b in TARP funds his firm received. Another unnamed Goldman exec said “It’s just impossible to run our business in this environment,” which is an understatement given the shortsighted proposal for such [...]

AIG reported fourth quarter earnings today and they lost $61.7 billion in the quarter, which is the largest quarterly loss ever for a US company. This prompted a phase 3 bailout of the company by the government, this time $30b was committed, bringing the total to about $170b. Previous news is here, or you can [...]

The good thing about driving all night to get back home after watching a NASCAR race in Las Vegas is… well, I can’t think of one. (It was for my son’s birthday.) But there is certainly a better picture of how the day is shaping up. Bank of America Ups FICO Requirements Countrywide, who is [...]

Remember when the heat of the credit crisis was the worst and AIG just needed time to sell assets? That plan is now being scrapped according to Bloomberg: AIG said Sept. 16 it will sell assets to repay an $85 billion loan from the Federal Reserve. Liddy has now concluded that plan won’t work, said [...]