California-based mortgage banking law firm Robert J. Jackson & Associates, one of the largest REO and mortgage default firms in the country. has merged into The Wolf Firm, a Law Corporation, according to an announcement from The Wolf Firm.

Approximately 511,000 borrowers who received HAMP mods in 2010 are due to reset in 2015 and face the prospect of increased interest rates, commonly known as "step-ups." Treasury and the GSEs are reaching out to assist borrowers who have trouble absorbing the increased monthly payments.

With GSE reform a hot topic among government officials and those in the housing industry, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York has issued a report stating that the "path forward for reform of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac does not look promising" and that failure to wind down the GSEs equated to a "colossal missed opportunity" to put U.S. residential housing finance on more stable footing.

Wells Fargo cited the improving economy in the last two years along with steady declines in delinquencies and fewer borrowers in need of mitigation options to avoid foreclosure as contributing factors to the closing of the Milwaukee office. The bank said the closing will be effective in late July.

Edward Golding, a senior adviser at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, has been named by the White House as new leader of the Federal Housing Administration, according to HUD. Sources at HUD told DS News on Thursday that Biniam Gebre will be stepping down from his role as acting commissioner of FHA and that Golding will be taking over the duties of that office. HUD confirmed that Golding's new title will be principal deputy assistant secretary and that he will assume that post on April 7.

Troy, Michigan-based law firm Fabrizio & Brook has announced the hiring of a new attorney, Paul Poles, and the appointment of Managing Shareholder Jonathan Engman to sit as a case evaluator in Oakland County, Michigan.

In the real earnings report for February 2015, the BLS reported that real average hourly earnings – hourly earnings adjusted for inflation – increased by 22 cents year-over-year from $10.32 to $10.54 year-over-year, an increase of 2.1 percent, despite a drop by one cent from January's average of $10.55.

Just as it reported for December's national index, Freddie Mac reported that January's national MiMi value of 74.6 indicated a weak housing market and even declined slightly (0.20 percent) month-over-month despite a year-over-year increase of 3.39 percent

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac required a combined taxpayer bailout of $188 billion in 2008 after the government seized control of them. The two GSEs returned to profitability in 2012. The future of the two GSEs has been a hotly contested topic in Washington as well as in the rest of the housing industry. Both parties appear to want to wind down the FHFA's conservatorship of the two, but cannot agree on what, if anything, should replace them as well as what role the government should play in housing, if any.

The across-the-board increases in default risk can be attributed to the risk associated with nonbank lending, which is substantially higher than that of big bank loans, according to AEI. The composite NRMI was reported to be 11.93 percent in February, a slight increase of 0.1 percentage points from the prior three-month average and a jump of 0.8 percentage points year-over-year. The composite index just hit a series high of 11.94 percent in January.