A group of state bank regulators is forming a task force to develop new mortgage servicing standards for non-bank firms, according to an announcement released Wednesday.

In Dallas, insurance claims management firm Dimont & Associates announced it is once again operating as an independent company, ending its affiliation with Wingspan Portfolio Holdings.

Former OneWest Bank vice chairman Brian P. Brooks is joining Fannie Mae as EVP, general counsel, and corporate secretary, according to an announcement from the company.

Declines in mortgage interest rates helped spur a pickup in refinances in August, even as interest in the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) continues to wane.

The sales of REO properties, or those repossessed by lenders, accounted for more than half of all-cash sales in the U.S. in July, according to transaction data recently released by CoreLogic.

Federal regulators announced on Tuesday they have finalized a rule establishing a risk retention framework for mortgage lenders securitizing and selling loans.

Chartered as a national bank in 1880, NBRS converted to a Maryland charter in 2002. Following the financial crisis of last decade, the bank took years of losses from non-performing assets and was never able to find enough capital to return to sound condition, said Acting Commissioner Gordon Cooley of the state's financial regulation office.

The number of listings last month was approximately 1.87 million, down 2.7 percent annually and 7.9 percent monthly. The decline compares to Redfin's latest analysis, which showed an unexpected bump in inventory from new listings. Redfin's data measures a narrower list of markets nationwide.

In a separate agreement the GSEs and FHFA are also reportedly considering programs that could reopen the door to guarantee some mortgages with down payments as low as 3 percent, including loans to first-time homebuyers, according to the Wall Street Journal. Fannie Mae stopped taking such loans last year, while Freddie Mac stopped guaranteeing them years ago.

DocMagic, Inc., a provider of compliant loan document preparation and eSign and eDelivery solutions, announced its acquisition of electronic software solutions firm eSignSystems from WAVE Systems Corp.