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Survey: Counselors Report Dual-Tracking Problems Still Persist

Banks are falling short of requirements to provide mortgage protections to homeowners as mandated by the national mortgage settlement and the California Homeowner Bill of Rights (HBOR), according to a California Reinvestment Coalition survey of housing counselors in the state. In the survey, over 60 percent of the counselors reported that Bank of America, Citibank, JPMorgan Chase, and Wells Fargo still dual-track ""sometimes,"" ""often,"" or ""always"" even though the practice is banned in California. The survey was conducted in February and March 2013 and included responses from 84 counselors and lawyers who represent hundreds of thousands of homeowners.

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Commentary: A Vision for the Future of Fannie and Freddie

The Bipartisan Policy Center's Housing Commission painted an interesting picture of the future role of the federal government in housing finance in a recent report. The report helped to define the gap between a healthy private housing finance system and what we have now. The good news is that many of the elements of a healthy system seem to be just around the corner. However, there is one part of the secondary market that is far from recovered--monoline insurance companies.

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Commentary: It Happens Every Month

The March employment situation report was another in a series of labor reports that had analysts scratching their heads--on the left or right side--depending on their politics. Just as there is no Democratic or Republican way to collect garbage (okay, there might be depending on how much government you want), there should be no Democratic or Republican economic data. The numbers are what they are, not what your political lens tells you they are. That said, when data such as the March report are released--weak job growth, yet a drop in the unemployment rate--conspiracy theorists emerge from the woodwork.

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Administration: ‘Key’ Housing Indicators Improve, Recovery Still ‘Fragile’

The housing industry is making ""important progress across many key indicators,"" according to the Obama Administration's latest housing scorecard, but as usual, the administration continued to warn the ""overall recovery remains fragile."" In the March report, the administration highlighted data showing improvements in home prices. In conjunction with the scorecard, the administration also released its progress report on the Making Home Affordable Program.

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Survey: CFPB and Dodd-Frank Plague Lenders with Uncertainty

""Uncertainty"" is a term that has plagued the lending industry for some time. Since the introduction of Dodd-Frank three years ago, uncertainty about the future of industry regulation has been a source of concern among close to half of lenders, according to QuestSoft, a Laguna Hills, California-based software provider. QuestSoft's fifth annual compliance survey reveals at least 49 percent of lenders have ranked Dodd-Frank-related uncertainty as a high concern for the past three years.

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Watchdog Report Identifies Flaws in Foreclosure Review Process

When federal regulators announced the abrupt ending of the Independent Foreclosure Review in place of a new agreement, the conclusion to the review process led to more questions than answers. To identify challenges in the foreclosure review process, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) undertook its own investigation. In a report, the GAO identified three hurdles that prevented federal regulators from achieving their goals through the foreclosure review: complexity of the reviews, overly broad guidance, and limited monitoring.

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Economy Adds 88K Jobs in March; Unemployment Rate Down to 7.6%

The economy added 88,000 jobs in March--the weakest showing since last June--but the unemployment rate dropped to 7.6.percent, its lowest level since December 2008, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported Friday. Economists had forecast payrolls would grow by 200,000, and that the unemployment rate would remain at 7.7 percent.

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Fixed Rates Stumble Over Recent Reports

Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey shows the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate was 3.54 percent (0.8 point) for the week ending April 4, down from 3.57 percent last week. Last year at this time, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 3.98 percent. Bankrate.com also observed declines in its weekly national survey. The 30-year FRM averaged 3.73 percent (down from 3.75 percent), while the 15-year fixed averaged 2.95 percent (from 2.97 percent before).

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Fitch: High Rate of Unsuccessful Mods Threatens Asset Quality

Servicers continue to make strides in home retention efforts, completing more than 360,000 retention actions in the fourth quarter of 2012. However, Fitch Ratings detects continued weak asset quality trends, especially among loans modified from 2008 through 2010. In fact, Fitch's findings lead the agency to fortify its belief that troubled debt restructurings should be counted as nonperforming assets. ""[W]e regard the high delinquency and foreclosure rates for recently modified mortgages as reflective of still elevated residential mortgage asset quality problems,"" Fitch said.

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CFPB Files Complaints Against Mortgage Insurers for Alleged Kickbacks

The CFPB took action against four mortgage insurance companies who gave kickbacks to lenders in exchange for business. The CFPB filed complaints and proposed consent orders against Genworth U.S. Mortgage Insurance Corporation, Mortgage Guaranty Insurance Corporation, Radian Guaranty Inc., and United Guaranty Corporation for their alleged roles in kickback arrangements. ""The orders announced today put an end to these types of arrangements and require these insurers to pay more than $15 million in penalties for violating the law,"" said CFPB director Richard Cordray.

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