The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has charged three former executives at IndyMac Bancorp with securities fraud for misleading investors about the lender's failing financial condition. The executives, former CEO Michael Perry and former CFOs A. Scott Keys and S. Blair Abernathy, allegedly filed false and misleading disclosures about the financial stability of IndyMac and IndyMac Bank F.S.B. and continued to sell millions of dollars in new stock. Abernathy is the only one of the three who has reached a settlement with the SEC.

A survey of more than 1,000 banking professionals shows 79 percent of respondents anticipating their consumer lending businesses to grow or remain steady in 2011. Wolters Kluwer Financial Services conducted the survey in January, finding only 5 percent of respondents expecting a decline in consumer loan volume. Those surveyed said a soft economy, stricter compliance regulations, increased competition, and reduced loan demand could be hindrances to growth in lending.

The budget proposal released Monday by the Obama administration calls for more than $3.7 trillion in spending for fiscal year 2012, and cuts of more than $1 trillion. The budget is centered around a theme of tough decisions that must be made, and the president says there must be efforts to cut or consolidate a number of programs. The proposal says the administration is committed to presenting a framework of principles that will build a new housing finance system that minimizes taxpayer exposure to financial risk.

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported that home sales increased in 49 states during the fourth quarter of 2010, with 78 markets experiencing gains from the fourth quarter of 2009. The national average of home sales rose 15.4 percent to an annual rate of 4.80 million in Q4 from 4.16 million in the third quarter. Distressed homes accounted for 34 percent of sales last quarter. Even with foreclosures continuing to enter the inventory pipeline, NAR says they've been selling well and housing supplies have trended down.

A study by George Washington University suggests the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) is carrying too much risk in insuring such a large percentage of large loans. In 2007 the FHA share of the home purchase market was at 6 percent. In 2009 that number came in at more than 56 percent. During that time, the size of the agency's loan limits more than doubled. The administration's plan for reforming the housing finance market indicates the government is planning to return FHA to its traditional role.

Analytics firm Altos Research this week unveiled a new product that will forecast changes in a property's transaction price up to 12 months into the future based on the strength or weakness of the area's local real estate market. The product, AltosEvaluate Forward Valuation Modeling (FVM), debuted at the American Securitization Forum 2011.

Data released this week by TransUnion says U.S. consumers are less of a credit risk than they have been in nearly two years. The company's proprietary Credit Risk Index decreased by 3.13 percent in the fourth quarter of 2010 when compared to a year earlier. Forty-nine states and the District of Columbia experienced declines in their credit risk indexes in Q4. The only state to see an increase was Wisconsin. TransUnion says while consumers' credit profiles have improved, consumer demand for credit has declined.

Fannie Mae announced Monday that it provided $16.9 billion in debt financing for the rental housing market in 2010, through around 2,300 multifamily mortgage loans for 306,000 rental units across the nation. About 91 percent of the multifamily units financed by the company last year were affordable to families who were at or below the median income of their communities.

A California appeals court ruling could have far reaching effects for the mortgage servicing community. The three judges hearing the case of Aceves v. U.S. Bank found that the bank had promised to negotiate a loan modification for a customer while intending to proceed with the foreclosure on the customer's house. The bank claimed an oral promise to postpone foreclosure is unenforceable. But the court ruled against the bank because the homeowner had opted against other actions to keep her home based on the bank's word it would offer a modification.

In the face of new loan officer compensation rules to take effect on April 1, one trade group is fighting back with threats of legal action against the Federal Reserve Board. The National Association of Independent Housing Professionals (NAIHP) said on its Web site that it has also held several high level meetings with various agencies like the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission, and with high powered administrators like Elizabeth Warren.