Ocwen Financial Corporation released its second quarter earnings this week, reporting income from continuing operations of $5.3 million, compared to $27.4 million a year ago. The company’s chairman and CEO William Erbey said Ocwen continues to produce strong operating results as illustrated by its record levels of revenue and operational income.

LandAmerica Financial Group, Inc. introduced technology to help mortgage lenders and servicers identify loans with existing or potential problems earlier this week. The company’s new solution, eZLoan Optimizer, provides specific actions to minimize loan portfolio losses.

Freddie Mac today reported a net loss of $821 million, or $1.63 per diluted share, for the second quarter of 2008, compared to a net income of $729 million, or $0.96 per diluted share, a year ago. According to the Associated Press, Freddie Mac’s losses were three times more than what Wall Street expected.

The United States Treasury announced yesterday that it has hired Morgan Stanley to assess the financial risks and proper capital structure of government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Bayview Asset Management, LLC, a subsidiary of Bayview Financial, L.P., announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to sell a minority interest in the company to Blackstone Capital Partners, an affiliate of The Blackstone Group.

The Mortgage Bankers Association released its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending August 1, 2008 today. According to the survey, the Market Composite Index, which is a measure of mortgage loan application volume, was 432.

After the most aggressive string of rate reductions in nearly two decades, the Federal Open Market Committee voted again yesterday to hold its target interest rate at 2 percent. Federal Reserve policy makers indicated that interest rates won’t budge until next year as they wait for the credit crisis to come to an end and inflation to ease, according to a report on Bloomberg.

To help financial institutions address the growing interest in Federal Housing Administration loans that is expected with the implementation of provisions in the new housing legislation, Wolters Kluwer Financial Services has launched a new suite of government lending services.

LenderLive Network, Inc., a business process outsourcing and technology provider for the financial industry, announced a joint initiative with PMI Mortgage Insurance today. The aim of the program is to prevent mortgage delinquencies and foreclosures through early intervention and workout solutions.

As part of the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008, NeighborWorks America, a congressionally charted non-profit group, will receive $180 million to administer as grant funding for foreclosure and legal counseling.