The CFPB took action against four mortgage insurance companies who gave kickbacks to lenders in exchange for business. The CFPB filed complaints and proposed consent orders against Genworth U.S. Mortgage Insurance Corporation, Mortgage Guaranty Insurance Corporation, Radian Guaranty Inc., and United Guaranty Corporation for their alleged roles in kickback arrangements. ""The orders announced today put an end to these types of arrangements and require these insurers to pay more than $15 million in penalties for violating the law,"" said CFPB director Richard Cordray.

United States Appraisals, a national appraisal management company (AMC) based in Leawood, Kansas, announced it has joined the Collateral Risk Network (CRN). Composed of chief appraisers, collateral risk managers, regulators, and valuation experts, CRN focuses on resolving risk and compliance challenges facing the collateral risk profession.

Fannie Mae earned a quarterly net income of $7.6 billion in Q4 and an annual net income of $17.2 billion throughout 2012. Both figures represent the largest quarterly and annual net incomes in the company's history. Fannie Mae credited last year's growth to improved credit results driven by a decline in serious delinquency rates, an increase in home prices, and higher sales prices on Fannie Mae-owned properties. For the full year, Fannie Mae paid $11.6 billion in dividends to Treasury under the senior preferred stock purchase agreement between the two organizations.

Mortgage originations in the New England region hit a five-year high in 2012, The Warren Group reported. According to the company's Mortgage MarketShare Module, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island all recorded strong activity last year, with the Bay State showing the most strength.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) went live Thursday with the nation's largest public database of federal consumer financial complaints. Thursday's launch expands the Consumer Complaint Database from about 19,000 credit card complaints to more than 90,000 complaints on mortgages, student loans, bank accounts and services, and other consumer loans.

According to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 3.57 percent (0.8 point) for the week ending March 28, up from 3.54 percent the previous week. Last year at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 3.99 percent. Bankrate.com reported slight decline in the 30-year fixed average, meanwhile. According to the site's weekly survey, the average 30-year rate fell from 3.78 percent to 3.75 percent in the last week.

A new report from the watchdog for the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) charges that the department isn't doing enough to make sure companies doing business with the GSEs are adhering to consumer protection laws. The Office of the Inspector General for FHFA (FHFA-OIG) released an audit report Tuesday examining the agency's oversight of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's monitoring of businesses that sell and service loans.

BankersLab, the minds behind Banc-it: Scoring Edition, announced the launch of another gamified mobile learning app designed to help collections and risk managers stay on top of the latest industry best practices. Banc-it: Collections Edition tests technical knowledge of collections management, scoring, debt collection, and customer service. Players are challenged to ""beat the rat race"" up the virtual corporate ladder, working from ""Intern"" up to ""Executive"" and collecting badges for expertise, speed, and persistence.

Veros released Monday its VeroFORECAST update for the next 12 months, predicting price appreciation in 75 percent of markets. Veros' future home price index (HPI) forecast projects significant strengthening and improvement across most markets. On average, Veros expects 2.2 percent price appreciation over the next year. This is the third consecutive quarter in which the index has shown forecast appreciation. As of the March update, 75 percent of U.S. markets are expected to see appreciation, while the remaining 25 percent are expected to experience declining home prices.

While the trend of low mortgage rates seen in the last year has stirred up housing activity and helped the market, Pro Teck Valuation Services posits a major question in its latest Home Value Forecast (HVF): Why have home prices in some markets been less responsive to low rates? The writers of the report named three dominant reasons. First, they note that credit scores for many households took a hit during and after the crisis as a result of loan modifications, foreclosures, and job losses, ""and the breadth of the impact has been sufficient to affect millions of households who now much become or are already renters.""