Government

Since 2011 when Treasury required the largest servicers to develop a single point of contact (SPOC) for all homeowners working through loss mitigation as part of the Making Home Affordable program, servicers have begun to implement the new standard in various ways. The Treasury noted in a recent report the nine largest servicers participating in the program have implemented three different SPOC models. In total, the nine servicers Treasury observed have increased staffing and now have 12,000 SPOCs working to communicate with homeowners.

Housing starts rose 3.6 percent in October to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 894,000, the highest level since July 2008, but permits for new residential construction fell the Census Bureau and HUD reported jointly Tuesday. Housing completions soared in October, up 14.5 percent during the month to 772,000, the highest level since June 2010. The increase in completions was led by a 5.3 percent jump in multifamily completions. Single-family completions in October reached their highest level since June 2010, increasing to 542,000.

JPMorgan Securities LLC and Credit Suisse Securities (USA) paid a combined $416.9 million to settle charges of misleading investors in the sale of residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS), the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced. According to the SEC's complaint against JPMorgan, the bank misstated information about the delinquency status of mortgages that provided collateral for an RMBS offering it underwrote. JPMorgan received fees of more than $2.7 million, and investors sustained losses of at least $37 million on undisclosed delinquent loans, the SEC says.

Two federal agencies partnered up to let certain companies know their mortgage advertising tactics may be unlawful. On Monday, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced letters were issued over potentially misleading advertisements that target veterans and older Americans. The CFPB sent about a dozen warning letters to mortgage lenders and brokers, and the FTC sent 20 letters to real estate agents, home builders, and lead generators.

Marking the 50th bank closing nationwide this year, the two branches of Hometown Community Bank in Braselton, Georgia shut their doors Friday and reopened Saturday as branches of CertusBank, National Association of Easley, South Carolina.

Five mortgage servicers--Bank of America, Chase, Citi, Wells Fargo, and Ally--have provided over 300,000 borrowers with some form of mortgage relief as part of a settlement agreement, according to a report from settlement monitor Joseph A. Smith, Jr. As of September 30, 2012, the banks reported they have provided $26.1 billion in actual consumer relief. Short sales accounted for $13.13 billion of that amount. Part of the settlement agreement requires the banks to provide $20 billion in relief, but the servicers are not always credited on a dollar-for-dollar basis.

In a speech Thursday at the Operation HOPE Global Financial Dignity Summit in Atlanta, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke spoke of the amplified effect the housing crisis has had on minorities and low-income families across the country. ""Lower-income and minority communities are often disproportionately affected by problems in the national economy, and the effects of the housing bust have followed that unfortunate pattern,"" Bernanke stated.

In a letter, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman accused Wells Fargo of using Hurricane Sandy to evade obligations under the national mortgage settlement. According to the AG's letter, a law firm representing Wells Fargo released a letter stating the bank will suspend ""all Home Preservation reviews and decisions"" as a result of Hurricane Sandy. Schneiderman's letter was addressed to the CEO of Wells Fargo and demands that the bank ""immediately rescind"" the policy.

The National Association of Home Builders' (NAHB) Home Opportunity Index (HOI) revealed 74.1 percent of all homes sold in Q3 were affordable to families earning the U.S. median income of $65,000. That percentage was up slightly from 73.8 percent in the second quarter.

Vintage loans brought the Federal Housing Administration's (FHA) Mutual Mortgage Insurance (MMI) Fund to its knees in fiscal year 2012, but the agency insists it does not immediately need to draw from the Treasury. A review conducted by an independent actuary found that the capital reserve ratio of the MMI Fund fell below zero to negative 1.44 percent, representing a negative economic value of $16.3 billion.