Investment funds capitalized by private equity firms and the U.S. Treasury have bought $3.4 billion in so-called toxic mortgage bonds under the administration's Legacy Securities Public-Private Investment Program (PPIP). A report released by the Treasury Friday details the first concrete progress made under the program since it was announced nearly a year ago. Eighty-seven percent of the PPIP portfolio holdings are private residential mortgage-backed securities. Thirteen percent are backed by commercial real estate assets.

The First American Corporation said Thursday that, in preparation for the separation of its Financial Services and Information Solutions businesses into two separate publicly traded companies, the firm has named Craig J. Barberio director of investor relations for the Financial Services group and David Bigelow VP of investor relations for the Information Solutions group. The company has also promoted Mark E. Seaton to the position of VP of finance for First American's Financial Services group

Freddie Mac and 13 national and local nonprofit organizations have launched a pilot effort aimed at convincing discouraged delinquent borrowers to pursue mortgage workouts to save their homes from foreclosure. Freddie Mac has set up new Borrower Help Centers in Chicago, Phoenix, San Bernardino, and Washington, D.C. to provide mortgage counseling to delinquent Freddie Mac borrowers. The company is also launching a separate national phone campaign to reach distressed borrowers across the nation.

Veros Real Estate Solutions, a Santa Ana, California-based provider of enterprise risk management and collateral valuation services, announced Thursday that the company has adopted the American Securitization Forum (ASF) Loan Identification Number Code (ASF LINC).

The Senate has chosen the nation's foremost central banker for the next four years, and he's a familiar face already. In a 70 to 30 vote Thursday afternoon, senators confirmed Ben S. Bernanke to a second term as Federal Reserve chairman. Many lawmakers have criticized the Fed chief for failing to nip the financial crisis in the bud, but fellow economists have credited him with pulling the U.S. economy back from the brink of collapse and preventing a sequel of the Great Depression.

Treasury said Thursday that it will begin requiring servicers to obtain all required documentation upfront, prior to evaluating a borrower for a trial plan under the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) - an about-face from the current process where trial mods can be initiated based on stated, not verified, income. Treasury officials also fielded speculation that they might make principal reduction a more central component of the program. They currently have no plans to address negative equity under HAMP, but called it a ""serious policy concern.""

Technology provider Equator has announced the launch of its new agent-initiated short sale feature, which gives agents the ability to request a short sale on behalf of their homeowner clients, initially bypassing the lender to open up the process on their own. The company says agent initiation makes the progression easier for both the borrower and the lender, and brings short sales to fruition in dramatically less time.

Ellie Mae announced Wednesday that Stephanie Berger, the company's director of e-mortgage solutions, has been appointed to the Mortgage Bankers Association's MISMO (Mortgage Industry Standards Maintenance Organization) residential governance committee.

Cities in the Sun Belt continue to post the nation's highest foreclosure rates. According to a year-end report released by RealtyTrac Thursday, four states accounted for all top 20 metro foreclosure rates in 2009. Las Vegas, Nevada registered the nation's highest rate - more than 12 percent. California claimed nine of the 20 metros with the highest percentage of foreclosures. Florida was home to eight, with the Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale metro area in Arizona also landing a spot on the list.

New data from Altos Research shows that housing supplies have been steadily declining for the last 16 months. The company says there are 20 percent fewer homes for sale now than there were in 2008. Some fear this decline is because banks have been holding back their repossessed properties, but Altos doesn't expect this so-called shadow inventory to result in a real estate day of reckoning in 2010 as some market observers have warned.