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GSEs Will Continue Reporting Credit Losses: FHFA

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have and will continue to realize credit losses due to mortgages originated years before the conservatorship when the GSEs were deemed critical supervisory concerns, FHFA stated in its annual Report to Congress. In 2011, Fannie and Freddie borrowed $33.6 billion from Treasury, an increase from the year before when $28 billion was drawn. Of the $33.6 billion, $16.1 billion was used to fund dividend payments back to Treasury. The losses leading to the $17.5 billion drawn from Treasury were due to business decisions made by the GSEs in the pre-conservatorship days. Overall, the GSEs have drawn $187.5 billion from Treasury as of the end of 2011.

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Comptroller: CRE Loans Still Present Risk to Banks

In a speech before the Commercial Real Estate (CRE) Finance Council on Wednesday, Comptroller of the Currency Thomas Curry warned banks and thrifts not to keep their eggs in one basket with CRE loans. Following up on his remarks in May about operational risk in banking institutions, Curry stressed that CRE credit is still a significant core risk area for banks and thrifts. Curry pointed out that national banks and federally chartered thrifts hold over $700 billion in total CRE loans, an amount that comprises 14 percent of their aggregate loan portfolios.

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Exclusive: Trade Group to Call for CFPB Official to Resign After Remarks

Sparking indignation in the mortgage broker community, Raj Date, deputy director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, laid the bulk of the blame for the housing crisis on brokers during a speaking engagement Monday. His statements have led at least one industry trade group to call for his resignation. Marc Savitt, president of the National Association of Independent Housing Professionals, called Date's comments ""outrageous."" He said the group will call for the official's resignation this week.

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NFMC Clients Nearly Twice as Likely to Receive Mod, 1.3M Counseled

Through National Foreclosure Mitigation Counseling (NFMC), more than 1.3 million homeowners have received foreclosure prevention counseling by local nonprofits and state housing finance agencies since March 2008, NeighborWorks America announced Monday. So far, the NFMC has also received six appropriations from Congress totaling $619.87 million. According to a report, NFMC clients who had their payments modified saved an average of $176 more per month, and those who received help were nearly twice as likely to obtain a modification.

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Maternity Discrimination Complaint to Cost BofA More than $160K

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced Thursday that Bank of America has agreed to pay $161,180 to settle allegations of maternity-based discrimination. A complaint had been filed by the Fair Housing Council of Orange County (FHCOC) against BofA alleging that one of its San Jose branches refused to refinance a woman's mortgage because she was on maternity leave. The Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination in mortgage lending and real estate-related transactions based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, family status, or disability.

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Court Unlikely to Favor Homeowner in Florida Foreclosure Case: Moody’s

If fraudulent documents are found in a foreclosure case, should banks be able to voluntarily dismiss the foreclosure then re-file the case after fixing the error? The answer to this question is currently being decided by the Florida Supreme Court, which heard arguments May 10 for a case titled Roman Pino v. Bank of New York Mellon. If the court does rule in favor of Pino, this would mean servicers would no longer be able to fix documents and refile foreclosures, which would stall or lead to the dismissal of foreclosure cases and make it even more difficult for the judicial state to proceed with foreclosures. While a decision has not been made, Moody's Analytics said the ruling is not likely to fall in favor of the defendant Pino, who is the homeowner the bank tried to foreclose on using a fraudulent assignment of mortgage.

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Bank Failure Tally Jumps to 28 After Busy Friday

The FDIC's Deposit Insurance Fund (DIF) took a combined hit of approximately $80.8 million Friday after the closure of four banks. First Capital Bank in Oklahoma was announced by the FDIC as the first Oklahoma bank and the 25th bank overall to close in 2012. That announcement was followed by three more announcements of the closings of Carolina Federal Savings Bank in South Carolina, Farmers and Traders State Bank in Illinois, and Waccamaw Bank in North Carolina.

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FHA Announces Plans to Sell Discounted, Delinquent Loans to Investors

Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Shaun Donovan and Federal Housing Administration (FHA) Commissioner Carol Galante announced in a press conference Friday FHA's program to sell mortgage loan pools to investors. The Distressed Asset Stabilization Program, designed to give homeowners with seriously delinquent loans a chance to avoid foreclosure, is an expansion of an earlier FHA pilot program that allows investors to purchase loan pools headed for foreclosure. Investors are then charged with the task of working to bring the loan out of default. The program starts in September 2012 with a sale of the loan pools.

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Former Fund Manager Admits to Fraud, Losses May Exceed $20 Million

The Office of the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (SIGTARP) announced Thursday that a former investment fund manager pleaded guilty to federal fraud charges. SIGTARP issued a release stating that former fund manager John Farahi pleaded guilty on Thursday to four felony counts-mail fraud, loan fraud, selling unregistered securities, and conspiracy to obstruct justice. Farahi admitted to cheating investors out of millions of dollars by falsely promising to purchase corporate bonds backed by TARP.

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U.S. Household Net Worth Grows as Debt Shrinks: Fed

Household net worth increased in the first quarter of 2012 due to gains in the stock market, while household debt declined, according to the U.S. Flow of Funds report released by the Federal Reserve. Household net worth, which is the difference between the value of a household's assets and liabilities, increased by about $2.8 trillion to $62.9 trillion compared to the previous quarter, the Fed reported. The value of real estate assets also improved, increasing by $425 billion, or 2.3 percent due to a 2.4 percent gain in home prices, according to analysis from IHS Global Insight.

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