Lender Processing Services, Inc. (LPS) and KMC Information Systems (KMCIS) announced Friday that the two firms have teamed up to create an end-to-end foreclosure processing solution for loan servicers. The companies plan to integrate certain LPS technologies with KMCIS' CaseAware platform for attorneys and trustees to improve the efficiency and transparency of foreclosure processing.

JPMorgan Chase reached agreements to resolve its mortgage-backed securities litigation with the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) and rep and warranty repurchase claims from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Altogether, the bank has agreed to pay $5.1 billion to the GSEs.

Lender Processing Services provided the media with a first look at the company's mortgage performance statistics for the month of September. The industry's foreclosure inventory continued its downward trend, and while delinquencies were up slightly from the previous month, they were down when comparing the numbers year-over-year. All-in-all, there are 4,594,000 mortgages going unpaid in the United States.

A 10-person panel of jurors is holding Bank of America and a mid-level manager liable for high-risk mortgages originated by Countrywide through a program known as Hustle and then sold off to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. After hearing arguments for four weeks in a Manhattan federal court, the jury returned a decision finding BofA liable on one charge of fraud in the civil case and finding Rebecca Mairone, former COO of one of Countrywide's lending divisions, liable on the one civil fraud charge she faced.

Employers hired 148,000 new workers in September, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Tuesday. The hiring pace in the U.S. slowed compared to previous months, yet the unemployment rate slipped to 7.2 percent from 7.3 percent in August. In September, the number of long-term unemployed-meaning those jobless for 27 weeks or more-was little changed at 4.1 million. The government says the number of long-term unemployed has declined by 725,000 over the past year.

Collateral Analytics, appointed James R. Follain, Ph.D. as its SVP of research and development. Dr. Follain is an economist with over 35 years' experience in the analysis of housing and mortgage markets, including tenures with Freddie Mac and the Federal Reserve. Much of his work involved the measurement and management of the risks associated with lending and investing as well as public policies.

The monitor overseeing fulfillment of the National Mortgage Settlement issued a report on the servicers' progress satisfying their consumer relief obligations. Ally Financial reported in February it completed all of its oblilgations, which was confirmed by the settlement monitor. Since last filing progress reports in February, Bank of America, Citi, Chase, and Wells Fargo have all subsequently asserted that they too have fulfilled their obligations.

Real estate investors made an average gross profit of $54,927 on single-family home flips in the third quarter, RealtyTrac reported Thursday. The tracking company's data indicates investors' Q3 profit was up 12 percent from the average gross return a year earlier, driven in part by an increase in high-end flips of homes that were sold for $750,000 or more and concentrated in California and New York.

Fannie Mae priced its first risk-sharing transaction under the Connecticut Avenue Securities series (C-deals). The $675 million note offering is scheduled to settle on October 24 and is similar in structure to the STACR risk-sharing transaction from Freddie Mac this summer. Likewise, Fannie Mae's C-deal is intended to attract private capital to the housing market and reduce taxpayer risk.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) released a bulletin and interim final rule Tuesday to provide greater clarity to the market concerning mortgage servicing rules that take effect in January 2014. The clarifications address contact with delinquent borrowers, communications with family members after a borrower dies, and treatment of consumers who have filed for bankruptcy.