Government

Continuing to show the recovery from superstorm Sandy, first-time claims for unemployment insurance fell 25,000 to 370,000 for the week ending December 1, the Labor Department reported Thursday. Economists expected 380,000 initial claims filings. The previous week's report was revised upward to 395,000 from the originally reported 393,000.

After remaining relatively flat for about a year, mortgage fraud is on the rise again, according to CoreLogic. All categories of mortgage fraud increased year-over-year in the first quarter of 2012, with employment fraud taking the lead with a 50 percent increase. CoreLogic attributes this rise to continued high levels of unemployment across the nation combined with low mortgage rates, incentivizing homeowners to misrepresent their employment status on loan applications. In an environment of increasing distressed sales, CoreLogic also sees heightened risk for short sale fraud.

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York announced the launch of a new interactive tool designed to provide data on the state of the housing recovery in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut. The Housing Market Recovery Web page provides a series of interactive visuals to display where home prices have recovered and to what extent.

Freddie Mac is ramping up repurchase demands and increasing the pool of defaulted loans subject to put-backs to include mortgages originated prior to the crisis in 2004 and 2005, according to U.S. Bancorp CEO Richard Davis. Speaking to investors at the Goldman Sachs Financial Services Conference this week, Davis described the news as ""unexpected,"" but Freddie Mac maintains it has always had the authority to pull files for review when loans stop performing regardless of when the loans were originated. The GSE says its repurchase policies have not changed and it is committed to working with lenders to resolve any issues.

ServiceLink, an end-to-end origination, servicing, and default solutions provider, appointed Kevin Coop to lead as SVP of enterprise strategy. In his new position, Coop is tasked with coordinating overall business development for the company's originations and default sales teams, marketing group, and product development strategy team.

With much focus in the industry on the single-family mortgage market and the challenges it currently faces, the Mortgage Bankers Association created a task force to address policy concerns in the multifamily market. With more than one in seven households residing in multifamily rental housing, the MBA task force says ""ensuring a vibrant and stable multifamily finance system is equally important to the public dialogue."" The MBA task force outlined a five-point plan for the GSEs.

Foreclosure starts fell even further in October after a steep drop in September, according to data from Lender Processing Services (LPS). In October, foreclosure starts numbered about 124,000, which represents a 22 percent decline from September to October and a 48 percent decrease from October 2011. LPS explained the plunge in foreclosure starts was likely driven by new borrower notification requirements outlined in the national mortgage settlement. However, LPS believes the influence of the national mortgage settlement will not have a lasting effect.

A month before her swearing-in, Senator-elect Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts) is already making waves in Washington. The Huffington Post reports Warren has been selected to fill a soon-to-be-open seat on the Senate Banking Committee.

FDIC-insured banks continued to show improving health in the year's third quarter, the agency reported Tuesday. Commercial banks and savings institution insured by FDIC reported aggregate net income of $37.6 billion in Q3, up from a reported $35.2 billion in Q3 2011. Meanwhile, negative indicators continued to fall. The number of banks on FDIC's ""Problem List"" declined for the sixth straight quarter, dropping from 732 to 694. The third quarter also marked the first time in three years that there have been fewer than 700 banks on the list.

Martin J. Gruenberg is the board's new chairman, and Thomas M. Hoenig is the new vice chairman. The Senate confirmed the men for their respective positions in mid-November. President Obama signed the orders shortly thereafter, making the confirmations official.