With Federal Housing Administration) loans now the latest rage in returning underserved borrowers to safer loan products, Des Moines, Iowa-based iEmergent has released a new series of demographic mortgage forecasting reports, so lenders have access to analytics that will help them find potential borrowers in certain markets who are looking for safe and affordable loan products.

Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan became the nation’s second state Attorney General to file suit against lending giant Countrywide Financial Corp. on Wednesday. Madigan’s office filed the lawsuit in Cook County Circuit Court accusing Countrywide of satisfying Wall Street investors over borrowers by engaging in risky lending practices that relied heavily on risky underwriting.

Despite lower rates and an influx of inventory, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reports in its latest Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey that the number of mortgage applications filed for the week ending June 20, 2008, declined from the week prior.

California Attorney General Edmund Brown Jr. has filed suit against Countrywide Financial Corp., its Chief Executive Officer Angelo Mozilo and President David Sambol, accusing them of deceiving homeowners by teasing risky ARM loans at low-interest rates and disguising the fact that borrowers were at risk of drowning under the weight of their mortgages once their teaser rates reset.

The Federal Open Market Committee has opted to keep the federal funds rate at 2-percent, according to a report released by the Federal Reserve Board on Wednesday. The Federal Reserve System justified this decision, saying a steady rate is appropriate considering economic activity continues to expand and energy prices and a softer job market are increasing inflationary concerns.

Living Cities, a philanthropic organization that invests in urban living and city development, has announced two six-figure projects in Cleveland and the Twin Cities that will allow the agency to donate funding to support the revitalization of neighborhoods impacted by foreclosures.

News reports surfaced late Tuesday that Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan is filing suit against Countrywide Financial Corp., claiming the lending giant hurt its consumers and the state through unfair and unethical lending practices, according to Reuters news agency.

The Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS) announced this week that six more states—Connecticut, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, New Hampshire and Vermont—have signed on to use the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System (NMLS), which is a web-centered registry that allows state-licensed lenders, brokers and loan officers to apply for a license or update a license online.

Titanium Solutions, Inc., a company that contacts and consults homeowners for mortgage servicers, has named Alice Radgowski, Eric Fleisher and Robert Thomson customer relations managers. Titanium says the three appointees will help the company bridge the communication gap between mortgage servicers and homeowners across the United States by managing existing relationships and developing relationships with new customers.

Saxon Mortgage Services, Inc. said in a filing with the Texas Workforce Commission last week that the company is laying off 50 staff members at its location in Fort Worth, Texas. In the filing, Saxon does not specify which positions will be impacted, but the company does say the layoffs will impact a branch located on the 4700 block of Mercantile Drive in Fort Worth.