The nation's second largest mortgage company is asking the U.S. Treasury for another $6 billion in capital support after posting its largest quarterly loss in over a year. Freddie Mac says it recorded a net loss of $4.4 billion for the quarter ended September 30, 2011, after shouldering a $4.8 billion loss on derivatives and a $3.6 billion provision for credit losses related to high levels of mortgage refinancing and lower mortgage insurance recoveries. The GSE's REO operations expense skyrocketed to $221 million in the third quarter, compared to $27 million for the second quarter.

Ally Financial's CEO Michael Carpenter told investors Wednesday that his company ""would not settle for the kind of numbers being bandied about"" as recompense for mishandled foreclosure paperwork. Ally's GMAC Mortgage was the first servicer to admit to robo-signing issues and affidavit errors related to foreclosure processing last fall. Analysts estimate the company could be on the hook for $2.5 billion of state attorneys general's $25 billion settlement proposal. Carpenter says it should be a ""small fraction"" of that amount.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said at a press conference Wednesday that ""ongoing drags from troubled housing conditions and still tight credit"" have led Fed officials to downgrade their forecasts for short-term economic growth. Bernanke quite frankly told reporters that problems in the housing sector are a big reason why our economy is not recovering more quickly. Despite the diminished outlook and Bernanke's repeated references to the depressed housing market, the Federal Reserve announced no new policy actions.

Reisenfeld & Associates LPA, LLC, a Cincinnati, Ohio-based legal services provider, recently announced the addition of Joel F. Bornkamp, Philip Q. Ratliff, Michael J. Lubes, and Majenica L. Springer to its legal team. Reisenfeld & Associates is a full-service creditors' rights law firm offering legal services to the mortgage, banking, and default servicing industries. The firm provides representation in all counties and federal districts in the states of Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana, and is currently designated counsel for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Safeguard Properties was recognized at the annual American Association of Code Enforcement (AACE) conference in Nashville, Tennessee this month for providing scholarships that allowed eight code enforcement officials from across the country to attend the conference. This was the first time that a property preservation company or member of the mortgage industry has sponsored code enforcement officers to attend the conference.

Mortgages backing homes that were foreclosed on in September had been delinquent for an average of 624 days, according to Lender Processing Services (LPS). That's up from 484 days in September of last year. LPS says almost 40 percent of loans in foreclosure have not made a payment in two years. Modification volumes have been falling steadily since last year, but on the plus side, LPS says close to 90 percent of the mods completed over that time have reduced borrowers' payments, and as a result, redefault rates have dropped significantly.

eMortgage Logic, LLC, a national provider of property valuation services, has developed a new report that the company says continues to demonstrate its ability to bring clarity and transparency to the residential valuation space. eMortgage Logic's new Platinum Valuation Report (PVR) combines broker price opinion (BPO) and automated valuation model (AVM) data, coupled with a detailed reconciliation analysis report completed by a licensed or certified appraiser.

Field Asset Services (FAS) announced Tuesday the kickoff of the company's first annual vendor conference titled FAS and FURIOUS! in Dallas, Texas. More than 1,000 REO and property preservation professionals from all over the country, representing over 600 companies, will converge in Dallas to take part in FAS's inaugural vendor conference.

Mortgage servicing practices have a considerable impact on the performance of a portfolio, and according to Moody's Investors Service, risk composition is diverging based on how individual servicers are dealing with borrowers. The ratings agency has begun publishing comparative performance metrics on the largest servicers of private residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS). Its analysts have identified three whose ""strong servicing practices"" have improved delinquency trends: GMAC, Ocwen, and Wells Fargo.

National real estate auction firm Hudson & Marshall donated $65,000 to the Military Warriors Support Foundation on Monday. The foundation provides assistance to combat-wounded veterans during their transition to civilian life through a variety of programs, offering a gateway to education, life skills, employment, and homeownership.