In hopes of abating a growing global financial crisis, the U.S. Federal Reserve led a coordinated central bank effort by cutting its key federal funds lending rate by half a point to 1.5 percent on Wednesday, its lowest level since 2004.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) sent an interim final rule amending its Affordable Housing Program (AHP) regulation to the Federal Register today. According to an FHFA statement, the changes to the AHP regulation will help preserve homeownership for low- and moderate-income families.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) announced today that it intends to double the rates banks pay for deposit insurance. The fee hike is part of the agency’s proposed restoration plan to replenish its insurance fund.

The Federal Reserve has negotiated a temporary agreement between Wachovia and its suitors, Citigroup and Wells Fargo, to cease all formal litigation activities. The standstill pact is effective only until noon on Wednesday, October 8, unless otherwise extended by all parties involved, and also calls for the banks to desist from formal discovery activities.

In an attempt to answer the first of many questions about how it would carry out the government’s $700 billion rescue plan, the Treasury Department posted solicitations yesterday for financial agents to help implement the Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP) authorized under the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act (EESA), which was signed into law by President Bush late last Friday.

Bank of America today announced the creation of a home retention program to modify troubled mortgages for nearly 400,000 Countrywide customers nationwide. The program, which represents one of the largest predatory lending settlements in the United States, will provide up to $8.4 billion in interest rate and principal reductions for Countrywide borrowers who financed their homes with subprime or pay option adjustable rate mortgages (ARMs).

Mortgage lending giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would qualify to sell bad mortgage assets to the federal government under the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 (EESA), signed into law last Friday.

LOGS Network, a centrally managed organization of attorneys, trustees, title personnel, and collection staff representing the mortgage servicing and consumer credit industries, has announced a new managing partner for its network law firm in the state of New Jersey.

The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) rolled out the new Hope for Homeowners (H4H) program on October 1. The program was created as part of the larger Economic Recovery Act of 2008 passed by Congress this summer, and is aimed to help struggling borrowers avoid foreclosure by refinancing into more affordable, sustainable, FHA-insured mortgages.

After more than a week of debate that triggered palpitating market response, Congress has approved H.R. 1424, the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 (EESA). Within hours of the House’s 262-171 approval this afternoon, President Bush signed the bill into law.