Government

For swing state Iowa, political leaders will probably fare better if they focus on the state's supply of corn rather than its foreclosures.

Freddie Mac announced it has relief policies for borrowers impacted by Hurricane Isaac. The relief polices are specifically for Freddie Mac borrowers located in Louisiana and Mississippi jurisdictions declared by President Barack Obama as disaster areas.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau recently unveiled several recent changes of guard for senior personnel. The bureau said in a release last week that Kelly Thompson Cochran, Chris Lipsett, Stephen van Meter, and Delicia Reynold Hand would move into senior roles.

Banks may have the right to schedule a foreclosure sale for past due borrowers, but in St. Louis County, homeowners will get a chance to schedule a mediation with their lender before facing foreclosure. On August 28, the St. Louis County Council passed an ordinance that will require lenders to provide homeowners with a notice advising them of their right to request mediation.

Illinois has decided to set aside part of its funds from the national mortgage settlement to provide free legal assistance for Chicago area homeowners, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan announced earlier this week. About $4.7 million will go to the Legal Assistance Foundation (LAF).

Low interest rates and better debt management brought mortgage delinquencies down in Q2, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York reported Wednesday. The New York Fed released its latest Quarterly Report on Household Debt and Credit, revealing that the delinquency rate for mortgages declined from the first quarter to 6.3 percent. Meanwhile, an estimated 256,000 consumers had a foreclosure notation added to their credit reports, the lowest number since mid-2007.

Before the end of this year, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will raise guarantee fees (g-fees) on single-family mortgages by an average of 10 basis points. On Friday, FHFA announced it has directed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to increase g-fees as a step toward encouraging more mortgage market participation from private firms. The increase are scheduled to take effect on December 1 for loans exchanged for mortgage-backed securities and for loans sold for cash, the increases are scheduled for November 1, 2012.

The California Reinvestment Coalition (CRC) issued a release Thursday criticizing the banks on going back to business as usual by forgoing principal reduction efforts and prioritizing short sales, a plan most banks were using before the settlement was announced. While California attorney general Kamala Harris managed to negotiate a plan that includes $12 billion in principal reduction for homeowners in the state, CRC said banks have been reluctant to uphold that responsibility.

Residential Capital (ResCap) was denied approval from a federal bankruptcy judge to pay its executives bonuses, Reuters reported Wednesday. The key employee incentive plan (KEIP) plan was for bonuses between $4.1 million and $7 million to be distributed to 17 of the top 20 employees from ResCap.

California attorney general Kamala Harris announced Thursday that the final parts of the California Homeowner Bill of Rights have passed out of both houses and are awaiting action from the governor. Harris said the entirety of the Homeowner Bill of Rights stems from need to help homeowners and implement the sorts of reform that were outlined in the national mortgage settlement. Once signed into law, all aspects of the legislative package will take effect at the start of 2013.