IndyMac to exit home lending

   IndyMac Bancorp said Monday that it would abandon most home lending and would lay off more than half its 7,200 employees in a shuddering acknowledgment that its attempt to reshape itself as an old-fashioned lender had failed.
   The Pasadena-based savings and loan said it was acquiescing to federal regulators who had booted it from [...]

Bank of America may sell mortgage assets following Countrywide Financial buyout

   We spoke earlier about Countrywide workers fear Bank of America Corp will cut severance, there is now rumors that the second-largest U.S. bank, might be selling off mortgage assets after purchasing Countrywide Financial Corp.
   It seems that BofA has had to make this choice because the balance sheets are constrained, these are to do [...]

IndyMac cuts back lending, staff

   IndyMac Bancorp of Pasadena, Calif., announced Monday it will substantially cut back its home mortgage lending and slash its workforce of 7,200 by about half.
   The savings and loan said it was taking the steps after federal regulators removed it from a listing of well-capitalized banks, the Los Angeles Times reported.
   IndyMac reported a [...]

IndyMac to stop most mortgage loans, cut 3,800 jobs

NEW YORK (Reuters) – IndyMac Bancorp Inc (IMB.N), one of the largest U.S. mortgage lenders, said on Monday it will eliminate 3,800 jobs and stop making most home loans after regulators concluded it was no longer “well capitalized.”
The job cuts affect 53 percent of the lender’s 7,200-person work force over the next couple of [...]

Sen. Schumer Kills Indymac Bancorp.

      
   Sen. Schumer’s statements comments appear to have killed Indymac Bancorp.  With the resent old fashion run on the bank, due to Sen. Schumer’s comments, Indymac has announced they will no longer accept any new loan submissions or rate locks in either retail or wholesale, and are closing their “forward” mortgage business.  As of today [...]

JPMorgan Chase & Co. is looking at Wachovia

   JPMorgan Chase & Co. has placed Wachovia Corp. high on its radar screen for a potential acquisition, CNBC reports, citing insiders with the New York bank.

A spokeswoman for Wachovia couldn’t be reached for comment.
   On June 2, when Ken Thompson was ousted as Wachovia CEO, several Wall Street analysts speculated the move could lead [...]

Mortgages ’stuck on high rates’

 

The availability of mortgages will remain subdued, lenders say

Mortgage deals are getting more expensive despite a drop in a key indicator, says financial information service Moneyfacts.
Swap rates, normally the key to mortgage rates, peaked three weeks ago but some fixed rate mortgages continue to increase in price.
The average interest rate for a two-year fixed rate [...]

IndyMac Downsizing Likely

After surviving a mini-run last week that saw depositors pull $100 million in deposits, IndyMac Bancorp Inc. may have to start selling off assets to stabilize itself financially.
At least that’s what some Wall Street analysts believe – and the company isn’t discounting the idea.
Paul J. Miller Jr., an analyst with Friedman Billings Ramsey [...]

Builder incentives: Just marketing, or the real deal?

   Most new-home buyers find it hard to resist the lure of builder incentives — paid closing costs, an allowance for free upgrades at the design center or interest-rate buy-downs. But are they really worth it?
   From the builder’s perspective, such incentives help sell homes faster, avoid price cuts, introduce available upgrades and expedite the [...]

Nontraditional tenants occupy dark stores at malls

   Community college classes in the old mall movie theater. A DMV office across from the Starbucks. Maybe a local library between the Victoria’s Secret and the Gap.

   Mall and strip center owners are turning to untried and untraditional tenants to brighten dark storefronts as the sluggish economy sends more retailers to bankruptcy or forces [...]