The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) plans to grow its staff in order to meet its strategic goals and stay in compliance with its mandate to protect consumers, according to a written testimony from Stephen Agostini, CFO at the bureau. Agostini, who gave testimony before the House Financial Services Committee Tuesday, stated that over the next two fiscal years, CFPB expects its staff to increase from 1,214 employees in the Fiscal Year 2013 to 1,545 employees in 2014.

ServiceLink, an end-to-end origination, servicing and default solutions provider for mortgage lenders and servicers, introduced a program to monitor and manage data from the Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems (MERS).

The increase in mortgage rates coupled with rising home prices may dampen demand, but the recent upward movement in rates is not enough to make housing unaffordable to median income earners, according to Freddie Mac's economic and housing outlook for June. In fact, the GSE's analysis showed mortgage rates would have to climb to nearly 7 percent before a median priced home is no longer affordable to median income earners in most parts of the country.

From new regulations to increasing fines, financial institutions--both large and small--reported feeling more squeezed by compliance and risk management pressures since the start of the year, according to survey results from Wolters Kluwer Financial Services. In January, the Indicator began with a baseline score of 100 after the company surveyed 400 banks and credit unions. After surveying 430 similar institutions in April, Wolters Kluwer Financial Services reported a score of 136.

Firefly Legal, a nationwide civil process service company, announced Randy Mucha, the company's civil process supervisor, was named treasurer of the Illinois Association of Professional Process Servers (ILAPPS).

The steady influx of out-of-state transplants, along with stronger than average employment growth, should keep the housing and apartment sectors in Texas strong, a report from the Dallas Federal Reserve concluded. Using data from the Census Bureau, the report authors D'Ann Petersen and Christina Daly pointed out that Texas is the No. 1 state for domestic in-migration. From July 2011 to July 2012, the Long Star state saw a net 140,888 new arrivals when excluding births or international migration.

Gains in home prices and sales surged in May, while inventory increased for the second straight month, according to Redfin. In May, home prices surged 17.4 percent year-over-year, while prices in all 19 markets tracked showed yearly gains. At the same time, home sales climbed by 15.8 percent from April to May, reaching their highest level since January 2010. Although for-sale housing inventory decreased 21.9 percent year-over-year, Redfin reported inventory inched up by 4.3 percent from April to May.

For homeowners facing a financial hardship, sometimes it can be difficult to know exactly what options might be available. To help homeowners get a better idea of what is out there, Freddie Mac released the Mortgage Help Navigator, a new online tool that assists homeowners with finding out what relief options might be applicable for them in their specific situation.

The risk of default for more recently originated mortgages is close to levels seen 10 years ago, according to the findings from the University Financial Associates (UFA) of Ann Arbor, Michigan. In the second quarter of this year, the UFA Default Risk Index stood at 106, up from 97 in the previous quarter. Between 2006 and 2008, the index peaked well above 200. ""These readings on the Index are the lowest in almost 10 years, but we may not be able to declare the mortgage crisis over yet,"" said Dennis Capozza, business professor at the University of Michigan and a founding principal of UFA.

Wells Fargo's Home Rebate Card has allowed its mortgage customers to pay down a total of $50 million from their loan balances so far.