Mortgage lenders have helped nearly 2.5 million troubled homeowners avoid foreclosure since the mortgage meltdown began in the summer of 2007.
That’s according to the latest report from Hope Now, the coalition of banks, mortgage-securities investors and housing counselors formed by the Bush administration to stem the foreclosure crisis.
Hope Now members helped 212,000 borrowers stay in [...]

Attorney General Terry Goddard announced a multi-state settlement with Countrywide Financial Corp. Monday, relating to the company’s alleged use of deceptive practices in their mortgage lending business.
According to the settlement, Bank of America, which acquired Countrywide Financial on July 1, 2008, agreed to develop a loan modification program for up to 397,000 borrowers nationwide. The [...]

When large South Florida developers needed money, they often turned to Lehman Brothers.
That role ended in dramatic fashion when Lehman filed for bankruptcy protection. But Lehman still controls nearly $2 billion in large loans throughout the region, meaning the bank’s demise will play out across South Florida’s besieged real estate market.
Among the local projects Lehman [...]

West Virginia sued Countrywide Financial Corp accusing the mortgage lender, now owned by Bank of America, of making risky and costly loans to consumers who could not afford them.
Darrell McGraw, the state’s attorney general, filed the lawsuit against Countrywide and its co-founder and former chief executive, Angelo Mozilo, on Tuesday with the Putnam County Circuit [...]