Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said in a speech Tuesday that he is now encouraging lenders involved in loan modifications to consider write-downs on principal to save homes from default. In his statement, Bernanke said this strategy could prove crucial—especially when it comes to loans where a modification alone will not make up for losses related to equity.

NeighborWorks® America and the HOPE NOW Alliance will be presenting a series of homeownership preservation seminars in California with the help of ten major lending shops this week. During the seminars, which began yesterday and run through March 7, homeowners in attendance will have the opportunity to meet lenders in-person and hear the latest options available for avoiding foreclosure and preserving troubled loans.

The president and chief executive officer of the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) confirmed last week that the MBA’s Senior Vice President and Chief Economist Doug Duncan is leaving the association and joining Fannie Mae as vice president and chief economist.

The HOPE NOW Alliance national organization of mortgage servicing, nonprofit housing counselors and loss mitigation-focused agencies—announced Monday that approximately 1,035,000 homeowners have benefited from loan workouts since July of last year.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have signed an agreement with the New York Attorney General’s office, saying they will conform to a series of new standards designed to restrict the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) from purchasing bank loans that do not utilize independent and solid appraisals.

Jacksonville, Florida-based REO Sentinel has released a new solution that allows loan servicing professionals to watch all activity that occurs inside a home from afar. Whether it’s a water leak, excessive humidity, smoke or unwarranted activity, REO Sentinel is able to send alerts to property managers in real-time to ensure homes in their portfolios receive the care and attention needed immediately.

America’s leading regulator of national banks sent letters recently to nine major banking platforms asking them to supply loan data each month. The request, which came from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), was issued so the regulatory agency will be able to analyze mortgage data and utilize the findings to help distressed homeowners.

{=FONT-SIZE: 10pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 150Fifty-two percent of economists in a recent survey cited subprime loan defaults and indebtedness as the issues concerning them the most in today’s economic marketplace, according to the most recent NABE Economic Policy Survey.

More than a week after Morgan Stanley announced layoffs within its residential mortgage platform, its lending subsidiary Saxon Mortgage Services was mentioned in a warn letter mailed to the Texas Workforce Commission to inform them of 100 job cuts at a Saxon facility in Fort Worth, Texas.

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) issued a statement this week applauding the U.S. Senate’s rejection of The Foreclosure Prevention Act of 2008—a bill that, if passed, would allow judges to modify the existing terms on mortgage loans.