Fannie-Freddie Report Likely to Be Late
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The Obama administration is likely to miss a deadline for issuing a long-awaited report about the future of mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and what might replace them.

U.S. Bank Hints at Checking and Debit Card Fees
For more: http://nyti.ms/f9idmR
The days of the free debit card may be coming to an end at some banks. On Wednesday, in an earnings conference call (see the transcript on SeekingAlpha.com) with analysts and investors, U.S. Bancorp executives hinted that later this year, debit cards might no longer be a free product at the bank. That would make it the first bank that we know of to adopt such fees.

More Banks Closed
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Regulators on Friday closed banks in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Colorado, bringing to seven the number of closures in 2011.

UPDATED: Mortgage Woes Lead to $2.2 Billion Loss at Bank of America
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Bank of America’s report Friday capped a series of earnings announcements by the nation’s biggest banks over the last week and a half, but it stands in sharp contrast to the resurgent profits recorded by its giant peers, like Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo.

Shamed Into Altering a Mortgage
For more: http://nyti.ms/fRvit9
In physics, the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle states that the process of observing subatomic particles affects their behavior. We have a similar principle in journalism: the process of reporting a story can sometimes affect the behavior of those being reported on. Last Wednesday, the Heisenberg Journalism Principle was on full display in a courtroom at the Queens County Courthouse, in New York.

With Retirement Savings, It’s a Sprint to the Finish
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What would you do if your financial planner prescribed the following advice? Save and invest diligently for 30 years, then cross your fingers and pray your investments will double over the last decade before you retire. You might as well go to Las Vegas.

BofA loses $1.2B in 4Q on mortgage writedowns
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Bank of America Corp., the largest U.S. bank by assets, reported a second straight quarterly loss, driven by a $2 billion writedown of its mortgage business.

Mortgage Servicers Face New Fee System
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Federal housing regulators said they will develop a new payment system for mortgage-servicing companies, which have been battered by paperwork errors and widespread consumer complaints.

Lenders See Little Choice: Layoffs
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Wells Fargo and American Express said Wednesday that they would take action to reduce expenses and lay off employees to become leaner. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. and Fifth Third Bancorp said Thursday they too want to become more efficient.

Data Show Parts of U.S. Economy Stirring
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Sales of existing homes rose more than expected in December despite bad weather as sellers cut prices, but growth of factory activity in the mid-Atlantic region fell in January from December’s level.

Banks Want Pieces of Fannie-Freddie Pie
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Wells Fargo and some other large banks would like private companies, perhaps even themselves, to become the new housing finance giants helping to bundle individual mortgages into securities — that would be stamped with a government guarantee.

Banks say fewer consumer loans are going bad
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In an encouraging round of earnings reports, major banks say fewer mortgages are going bad, credit card defaults are down and more people are paying the bills on time.

2010 ends as second worst year for home construction
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Economists say it could take three more years before the industry begins building homes at a healthy rate. In the mean time, the housing downturn is dragging on the broader economy, with one-quarter of the jobs lost since the recession began in the construction field.

Housing Starts Slowed Sharply in December
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Groundbreaking on new homes fell more than expected in December to its lowest in over a year, suggesting the battered housing sector remained a roadblock to a recovery.

Wells Fargo Posts 21% Gain in Its Profit
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Wells Fargo, one of the nation’s biggest banks and the largest consumer lender, said Wednesday that its fourth-quarter earnings rose 21 percent, helped by an improving loan portfolio and withdrawals from its capital reserves.