U.S. lawmakers challenged former top executives of major government-backed mortgage finance companies to explain why they took on billions of dollars in risky loans. Questioning of the former heads of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac came as a House of Representatives committee released documents showing that the executives ignored warnings about the dangers the investments could pose.

In the midst of the widening housing crisis, there’s been quite a lot of criticism from voters aimed at the recent efforts by the government to bail out financial institutions that are being dragged down by souring mortgage securities.

BlackRock Inc. and hedge fund Highfields Capital Management said on Monday they have launched a new company that will buy and restructure distressed mortgage loans.

The delinquency rate for mortgage loans on one-to-four-unit residential properties stood at 5.82 percent of all loans outstanding in the fourth quarter of 2007 on a seasonally adjusted (SA) basis, up 23 basis points from the third quarter of 2007, and up 87 basis points from one year ago, according to MBA's National Delinquency Survey.

Mortgage payoff is a monetary scheme whereby you compensate slightly more each month in order to pay off your mortgage quicker. It is the entire required amount to satisfy the questions in mortgage. Paying off mortgage is surely a relief for homeowners.

Countrywide says "Our fourth quarter ended with a number of positive operational trends," said David Sambol, President and Chief Operating Officer. "Total loan fundings were $24 billion for the month of December, up slightly from November 2007 and ahead of our forecasts. This pushed our fourth quarter fundings to $69 billion, also exceeding our expectations.

News has just broken that yet another bank has decided to shut down their wholesale and correspondent mortgage operations. The bank in question is the First National Bank of Arizona.

The woes of the mortgage industry are showing that it does not matter if you have a sub-prime mortgage or an A paper mortgage, you are still at risk. With American Home Mortgage closing its doors a couple of weeks ago, we all knew it was just a matter of time before some more big players in the mortgage industry follow suit.

There is a bad new from First Magnus as it files for bankruptcy. First Magnus website is not longer available and the following message is there standing as the last news from First Magnus, which used to be a major mortgage lender.