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Industry, Congress Urge DeMarco Not to Lower Loan Limits

Federal Housing Finance Agency Acting Director Edward DeMarco is deliberating lowering the loan limits for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Congress and the industry, however, are voicing a singular opposition, claiming such action would be detrimental to the housing recovery that is starting to take place across the country. Federal lawmakers and several industry groups sent letters to DeMarco over the past week, some even questioning the legality of such a move.

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Two Lenders Penalized on HMDA Violations

Two mortgage lenders must pay a combined $459,000 in civil penalties for what the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) says are violations of the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA). According to the bureau, Mortgage Master, a nonbank lender based in Massachusetts, and Washington Federal, a Seattle-based bank, were found to have ""severely compromised mortgage lending data"" on applications from 2011.

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Mortgage Rates Hold Steady Amid Stalemate on Capitol Hill

Fixed mortgage rates held more or less steady this week as Capitol Hill remained locked in debate over budgetary concerns. According to data in Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 4.23 percent for the week ending October 10, and the 15-year fixed rate came in at 3.31 percent.

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SunTrust Settles Legacy Mortgage Issues with Feds and GSEs

SunTrust Banks, Inc., is ponying up millions to resolve mortgage-related legal matters, including claims pertaining to the National Mortgage Settlement, and to settle mortgage repurchase demands from Fannie and Freddie. SunTrust says its third-quarter numbers will be negatively impacted by these resolution actions, resulting in an after-tax earnings reduction of $179 million.

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Commentary: Congress’ Deadliest Weapon? Uncertainty.

The federal government shutdown is center stage in the news and the question that is repeatedly asked is: What impact will it have on the economy? Of course, the potential economic impact will be difficult to gauge because the shutdown has stopped the flow of government data releases until the funding battle is resolved. Luckily, one key indicator remains live.

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Borrowers Find Holistic Financial Advice Through Post-Mod Counseling

More than 11,000 homeowners have participated in Fannie Mae's post-modification counseling since 2011. Recognizing that many homeowners continue to struggle with their finances after receiving loan modifications, Fannie Mae developed the post-modification counseling program to take a holistic approach to individual finances and set borrowers on a sustainable path. Currently, there are 18 servicers that utilize the program.

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Analysts Expect Specialty Servicers to Play Larger Role in Refi Market

FBR Capital Markets on Wednesday raised its projection for new mortgage volume in the third quarter to $400-$420 billion, largely due to more activity from special servicers as larger banks relinquish market share. FBR anticipates strong performance from these specialty servicers, partly because of their ability to effectually mine acquired portfolios for refinancing opportunities.

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NDeX Transitions to Regulatory IT with Launch of assure360

A new technology company has launched in Michigan with the goal of providing world-class information technology (IT) services to highly regulated industries nationwide. Founded by what used to be the IT staff at National Default Exchange (NDeX), assured360 fully owns and operates two geographically diverse Tier 3 data centers: one in Farmington Hills, Michigan, and the other in Carrollton, Texas.

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Clayton Holdings Grows Securitization Business

Clayton Holdings LLC, a provider of loan due diligence, surveillance, and consulting services for the mortgage industry, announced that it has expanded its securitization group in preparation for the private market's return.

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Foreclosures Lowest Since Q2 2007 as Starts Plummet to 7-Year Low

There were a total of 376,931 U.S. properties with foreclosure filings in the third quarter of 2013, RealtyTrac reported Thursday. The Q3 figure represents a 7 percent decline from the previous quarter and a 29 percent decline from the third quarter of 2012. By RealtyTrac's calculations, one in every 348 U.S. housing units had a foreclosure filing last quarter, which puts Q3 foreclosure activity at its lowest level since the second quarter of 2007.

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