fannie mae

Today is the supposed deadline for a group of attorneys general to sign onto a settlement with the nation’s biggest banks, stemming from the foreclosure fraud scandal that broke back in 2010.

The settlement has been in limbo for several months, as a group of AGs believed it gave too much up to the banks in terms of immunity for mortgage misdeeds.

Inspired by a personal experience, a businessman began delving into the practices of the mortgage industry, including Fannie Mae.

His findings have been prescient.

A proposed agreement with the S.E.C. would end an investigation over whether Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac adequately disclosed their exposure to risky subprime loans.

The federal agency that oversees Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is expected to sue Bank of America, Goldman Sachs and others, accusing them of failures in vetting mortgages during the housing bubble.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac executives may face S.E.C. civil actions, but no criminal charges have been made.

If Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac shut down, interest rates would rise for most borrowers, but urban and rural residents could see sharper increases than customers in the suburbs.

Since the government took over Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, taxpayers have spent more than $160 million defending their former top executives in fraud lawsuits.

Government-controlled mortgage buyer Fannie Mae is asking for $2.5 billion in additional federal aid after posting a narrower loss in the third quarter.

Oct. 18 -- Brian Gardner, senior vice president for Washington research at Keefe Bruyette & Woods Inc., talks about implications of a Republican-controlled Congress and the prospects for overhauling Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Fannie Mae is asking for less money from the government, a sign that the cost to taxpayers for bailing out the mortgage giant could be billions lower than once thought.