Government

Two more banks have lost in their attempts to dismiss claims of misconduct in sale of mortgage-backed securities (MBS) to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. U.S. District Judge Denise Cote rejected motions filed by Goldman Sachs and Deutsche Bank, two of 16 defendants brought before her court by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA). In their arguments, attorneys for Deutsche Bank and Goldman say that FHFA's allegations are inadequate to support its claim of fraud.

The implementation of the Basel III capital rules may be postponed beyond the start of 2013, according to a joint statement released by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the FDIC, and the Federal Reserve. The announcement follows a comment period during which many trade organizations and institutions expressed apprehension about the new requirements.

The national mortgage settlement monitor, Joseph A. Smith, launched an outreach Monday to inform servicemembers of their ability to report servicing complaints online. Through the outreach, Smith wanted to specifically encourage servicemembers to report mortgage servicing complaints online to keep the Office of Mortgage Settlement Oversight better informed.

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) offered market projections into 2014 during a forum at the 2012 Realtors Conference and Expo. NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun says he expects the market share of distressed sales to fall from about 25 percent in 2012 to 8 percent in 2014, according to a release on the forum. The housing recovery was expected to continue so long as credit does not further tighten and a fiscal cliff is avoided.

The state of the housing market continues to improve though recovery remains ""fragile,"" according to the October Housing Scorecard released Friday by the Obama administration. Along with the scorecard, the administration released special instructions for those administering the Making Home Affordable Program in areas affected by Hurricane Sandy. In areas directly impacted by Hurricane Sandy, servicers must offer at least three months forbearance to any homeowners eligible for Making Home Affordable who request forbearance.

While admitting that creating mortgage lending regulations that prevent abuse without over-burdening community banks is challenging, Federal Reserve governor Elizabeth A. Duke suggested Friday that policymakers ""abandon efforts for a one-size-fits-all approach."" Duke first let community bankers know the federal regulatory agencies agreed to postpone the requirements that were set to go into effect at the start of next year. She also said in most cases, evidence supports community bankers' claims that their lending practices did not lead to the financial crises. For example, for community banks, their serious delinquency rate for subprime loans did not go much over 4 percent.

The value of mortgage servicing rights (MSRs) may be changing, and the market for acquiring MSRs may be heating up. This market phenomenon is the result of the proposed Basel III capital rules applicable to banks. For non-banks, the Basel III rules may seem irrelevant, but that could be a mistake. The Basel III rules could change how MSRs are priced, who owns the MSRs, and ultimately which servicers handle servicing for the loans that relate to the MSRs.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac updated their disaster relief policies for borrowers impacted by Hurricane Sandy. The policies apply to properties in eligible disaster areas and are specifically for borrowers who have mortgages secured by one of the GSEs. One of the announced policies allows servicers to grant 90-day foreclosure sale and 90-day eviction suspensions. Services are also authorized to extend forbearance and repayment plans for up to 12 months for certain borrowers.

The price difference between a foreclosure and non-distressed sale is getting smaller, according to new analysis from Zillow. In September, the nationwide discount for bank-owned properties compared to non-foreclosures was 7.7 percent, Zillow reported. In September 2011, the foreclosure discount averaged 9.1 percent and in August 2009, foreclosure discounts peaked at 23.7 percent. Year-over-year, foreclosure discounts decreased in 76.9 percent of the metros analyzed, and all the metros showed a decrease from their peak.

In a regulatory filing released Thursday, JPMorgan Chase revealed it has reached a settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to resolve claims against itself and Bear Stearns, which it acquired in 2008. According to the filing, JPMorgan ""has reached an agreement in principle with the staff of the SEC to resolve"" claims under investigation by the regulatory agency. The agreement is subject to SEC and court approval.