Government

The Office of Mortgage Settlement Oversight recently chose five new firms to serve as its eyes and ears on the ground as the $25 servicer settlement grinds forward. The new secondary professional firms - including BKD, LLP; Baker Tilly Virchow Krause, LLP; Crowe Horwath, LLP; Grant Thornton, LLP; and McGladrey, LLP - will assist settlement monitor Joseph A. Smith, Jr., over the next three and a half years. Each firm will assist BDO Consulting, a division of BDO USA, LLP, and the primary professional firm responsible for evaluations.

A report from Lender Processing Services (LPS) revealed that in judicial states, the share of aging past due loans is significantly higher than in non-judicial states. In judicial states, nearly 60 percent of borrowers with loans in foreclosure have not made a payment in 2 years, whereas in non-judicial states, that percentage is at about 30 percent. Among those with loans 90 days or more past due, 50 percent of borrowers in judicial states have not made a payment in more than one year, compared to slightly more than 40 percent in non-judicial states.

After remaining steady in the first quarter of the year, the Interthinx Mortgage Fraud Risk Index rose again in the second quarter, climbing about 7 percent over the three-month period. Nevada and Arizona are the riskiest two states, followed by Florida, New Jersey, and Georgia, which made its way to the top five list for the first time since Interthinx began tracking mortgage fraud in 2009. Georgia took the place of California, which has been on the top five list since the inception of the index, according to Interthinx.

Overall, foreclosure activity declined year-over-year and month-over-month, but foreclosure starts told a different story in July, according to RealtyTrac's foreclosure market report. Foreclosure filings, which include default notices, scheduled auctions, and bank repossessions, fell 3 percent month-over-month and decreased 10 percent from July 2011. Fewer homes were lost to the foreclosure process as well, with lenders completing the foreclosure process on 53,654 U.S. properties. The figure is a 1 percent decrease from June and a 21 percent decrease from a year ago.

First-time claims for unemployment insurance fell 6,000 for the week ended August 4 to 361,000, the Labor Department reported Thursday. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg had expected 367,000 initial claims. The prior week's total was revised up to 367,000 from the originally reported 365,000.

Following Tuesday's news that Freddie Mac will not require a draw from Treasury this quarter, Fannie Mae announced the same on Wednesday in its second quarter earnings report. This is the second consecutive quarter that the GSE has not required a draw from Treasury. Before this year, Fannie May required a draw from Treasury for the previous 11 consecutive quarters. The GSE reported a net worth of $2.8 billion with comprehensive income in the second quarter reaching $5.4 billion. This is up from $2.9 billion in the first quarter of this year.

The Department of the Treasury and HUD announced Wednesday that they are hosting a free event for struggling homeowners in Maryland. The event will be the Obama administration's 75th occasion designed to bring together the nation's largest mortgage servicers, local HUD-approved housing counseling agencies, non-profits, and government partners to assist homeowners struggling to avoid foreclosure.

To learn more about the NeighborWorks America Neighborhood Marketing Program, DS News asked Ascala Sisk, Senior Manager for Community Stabilization at NeighborWorks, a few questions about the effort. The new program is one of many initiatives from the nonprofit to rebuild communities.

The Federal Reserve announced Tuesday that it assessed a fine to MetLife for $3.2 million due to the life insurer's ""failure to adequately oversee its subsidiary bank's mortgage loan servicing and foreclosure processing operations.""

FHFA issued a notice Wednesday to warn of the controversial use of eminent domain proposed in San Bernardino County. In the notice, which was sent to the Federal Register, FHFA stated it had 'significant concerns"" about the use of eminent domain to revise existing contracts and alter the value of GSE or Federal Home Loan Bank securities holdings. FHFA said that in relation to the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the use of an eminent domain program could result in a cost to taxpayers.