In a teleconference call on Tuesday, Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Steve Preston discussed the next phase of FHASecure, a President Bush-backed initiative created in August 2007 to help troubled borrowers refinance into more secured loans.

Kyle Ransom, president of Ransom Enterprizes, LLC, a company which specializes in providing training services in real estate development, acquisitions, and foreclosure prevention, said in a company statement on Monday that using Internet networking is a growing tool in reaching homeowners who are facing foreclosure.

:http://www.governor.state.pa.us/portal/server.ptxPennsylvania Governor Edward G. Rendell:http://www.governor.state.pa.us/portal/server.ptx signed five mortgage reform bills into law on Tuesday, representing an effort on the part of the Pennsylvania state government to protect homebuyers from practices which could put them at a higher risk of foreclosure, such as buying a mortgage from someone who is not licensed within the state.

IndyMac announced on Monday, in an open letter to its shareholders, that they will be drastically reducing their operations in an effort to stop the continued loss of capital they have been experiencing as a result of the drop in home and mortgage values.

DSNews.com recently reported on IndyMac’s move to retrench their business operations and layoff nearly half their workforce in a move to return to profitability, however in a recent announcement the Pasadena, California-based lender announced that they will be selling the majority of their Bancorp retail mortgage branches to Prospect Mortgage, a company which acquires midsized residential lenders.

The Family Credit Counseling Service, a nonprofit credit counseling agency, announced on Monday that it will be changing its name to Family Credit Management Services) to reflect the fact that it will be expanding its services to help consumers have a greater understanding of their mortgages.

Parsippany, New Jersey based mortgage broker FHM Mortgage Group, LLC, announced today that they will be partnering with collection agencies to help homeowners who are past due on their mortgages repay their debts.

First American Title Insurance Company announced today that it will be partnering with the Federal Housing Administration to educate real estate professionals on how to help multicultural homeowners understand their new conforming loan limits, instituted in April.

DepotPoint, Inc.:http://www.depotpoint.com, a company that provides technology services for the real estate and foreclosure industries, announced yesterday that it has secured $7 million in additional funding by partnering with OVP Venture Partners and Trident Capital.

According to the American Bankers Association’s (ABA) Consumer Credit Delinquency Bulletin, released last week, delinquency rates for home equity lines of credit (HELOCS) and bank cards rose during the first quarter of 2008, due in part to the weakness in the housing market and general economy.