The government's Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) and Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) will be extended until the end of 2016, according to an announcement from FHFA Director Mel Watt on Friday. Speaking at the Greenlining Institute 22nd Annual Economic Summit, Watt announced a one-year extension of HARP, which was set to expire at the end of this year. The one-year extension until the end of 2016 for HAMP was previously announced in July. Both of the government's affordable housing programs began in 2009 in response to the housing crisis.

Where the effective tax rate on the banking sector is concerned, the increase of 2 percentage points in the leverage ratio of the banking sector, from 7.5 percent to 9.5 percent) in the post-crisis years of 2008 to 2014 can be transformed into an increase in the effective tax rate for the banking sector, according to Holtz-Eakin.

Burnsville, Minnesota-based default servicing law firm Shapiro & Zielke, LLP and First Financial Title Agency of Minnesota, Inc. has announced the addition of attorney Tracy J. Halliday to its team.

Rieke's 23-year career in the mortgage lending arena includes managing several highly profitable wholesale lending operations. In his new role at Mid America, Rieke will focus on the TPO lending sector.

March's already low reported job gains total of 126,000 was revised even further lower in April's report, down to 85,000. Combined with February's job gains revision from 264,000 to 266,000 in April, employment gains in February and March combined were 39,000 lower than originally reported. Job gains have averaged 191,000 per month over the past three months.

Counsel's Corner is an ongoing series in which DS News talks with default servicing attorneys around the country about the most pressing issues facing the default servicing industry. This installment features Don Hawthorne, Partner in the New York office of Axinn Veltrop & Harkrider.

Fannie Mae's comprehensive income for Q1 was reported at $1.8 billion, up from $1.3 billion in Q4. The Enterprise reported a net worth of $3.6 billion as of the end of Q1, which will result in a payment of $1.8 billion to the Department of Treasury in June per the terms of a 2012 amendment to the 2008 bailout agreement. Following the forthcoming June payment, Fannie Mae will have paid $138.2 billion in dividends to Treasury – about $22.1 billion more than the $116.1 billion bailout Fannie Mae received from taxpayers in 2008 to continue operations.

Consumer sentiment toward the economy took a slight step backward in April, with the percentage of respondents who said the economy is on the right track fell by one percentage point down to 42 percent. Meanwhile, the share who said the economy is on the wrong track increased by one percentage point up to 49 percent.

The Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee will convene on that day to discuss the controversial piece of legislature, which was enacted in 2010 in response to the financial crisis. The Chairman of the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee, Representative Sean Duffy (R-Wisconsin), has been an outspoken critic of Dodd-Frank.

Former Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. chair Sheila Bair has been announced as the new president of Washington College, a private liberal arts school in Maryland, according to an announcement from Washington College. Bair will be the 28th president overall and first female president of historic Washington College, which was founded in 1782.