JPMorgan Chase has been subpoenaed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission over mortgages issued before the real estate collapse that have since soured, Bloomberg News reported. The move comes amid an SEC probe into the mortgage practices of several U.S. banks, including Credit Suisse, which was subpoenaed last week. The JPMorgan subpoena is seeking information related to Bear Stearns mortgage practices, after bond insurers alleged that the bank, which JPMorgan acquired in 2008, had demanded refunds from originators but then failed to share those refunds with sellers. [more]

From the May issue: Some New York City mortgage brokers are panicked about new federal rules governing their pay, saying the changes could spell doom for the already ailing mortgage industry. Last month, the Federal Reserve Board issued new regulations dictating compensation for mortgage brokers — the middlemen between the consumer and the loan originator or bank — and loan officers, who typically work directly for the originator. The new rules are the latest effort from the Federal Reserve Board to protect consumers, but mortgage brokers in New York City and elsewhere say they are already seeing unintended consequences, in an industry hurting from the subprime mortgage crisis. [more]

Bank of America is nearing a deal to refinance its eponymous tower at One Bryant Park for the second time in just 10 months, Crain’s reported. The 51-story office tower was last refinanced with a $1.28 billion three-year loan in June, in what was believed to be one of the largest single, private financing deals since the 2007 credit market freeze. This time around, the bank and its co-owner, the Durst Organization, are looking to obtain a 10-year, $1.3 billion loan from JPMorgan Chase. [more]

Vornado Realty Trust is said to be in talks to buy the landmarked, five-story building at 510 Fifth Avenue, at the corner of 43rd Street, according to the Post. The 61,159-foot property, designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill and completed in 1954 for Manufacturers Hanover Trust, now belongs to Tahl-Propp Equities, which purchased it for $22 million in 2000 from Chase. There is a current mortgage of $33 million on the property. Chase still has a small branch in the mezzanine and owns the 145,000 feet of excess air rights there. [Post]

The Bloomberg Administration and environmental officials have named the Jamaica Bay as their next cleanup target area. Meanwhile, Chase, the consumer and commercial banking arm of JPMorgan Chase, announced today the opening of two new centers in the tri-state area to help distressed homeowners avoid foreclosure. Click here for more. [more]

Richard Bouchner, managing director of the Commodore Property Group

From the February issue:
Everyone in the real estate industry knows that the price of admission for a mortgage has gone up. And just about everyone agrees there’s good reason for that, given that loose lending standards were largely responsible for the financial mess that plunged the economy into a recession and sent real estate into a tailspin. With the days of quick and easy jumbo loans and 100 percent financing now merely a memory, mortgage brokers have had to completely alter the way they do business. This month, The Real Deal talked to mortgage brokers and other mortgage industry professionals to find out how the industry is doing in New York City. While nearly everyone said business is up compared to a year ago, when they were dealing with the immediate aftermath of the Lehman debacle, new Federal guidelines designed to protect borrowers and inject more transparency into the system have slowed down the process of securing a mortgage. And the relationship between banks and mortgage brokers is strained, with fewer banks offering fewer products. As one mortgage broker said: “It’s all cookie-cutter stuff; not every borrower fits into a box neatly.” For more on which buyers and buildings are fueling mortgage activity in New York, what kinds of mortgages are being financed and the new standards mortgage brokers are dealing with, we turn to our panel of experts.  [more]

David Picket, president of the Gotham Organization, inside 200 West, his firm’s new rental on West 72nd Street.

From the December issue: West 72nd Street and Broadway epitomizes old New York. Brick-and-terra-cotta icons like the famed Dorilton mix with the bright lights of Gray’s Papaya. But there’s a newcomer that looks more like South Beach, splashing glass amid the stately stone.
Named 200 West for its 72nd Street address, the 19-story rental tower broke ground in 2007, near the height of the boom, and is scheduled to start leasing in February. In addition to the 196 apartments, the building, which wraps an obtuse-angled corner, also has a total of 50,000 square feet of big-box-style, multilevel space for three retailers. That’s in a neighborhood where stores typically measure a fraction of the size. “We will certainly liven up that corner a lot,” said David Picket, president of the Gotham Organization, the developer of the $220 million project and one of its three investors. The others are Philips International Holding and Rhodes NY. [more]