Daily Dose

Attorneys for investment firm Morgan Stanley made a motion in the New York Supreme Court Tuesday to dismiss two lawsuits filed by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) accusing the firm of failing to buy back $2.5 billion worth of faulty residential mortgage-backed securities, according to media reports. FHFA, which is suing on behalf of the RMBS pools' trustees, claims that Morgan Stanley committed a breach of contract by failing to buy back the poor performing loans, which were pooled into securities and sold to Freddie Mac in 2007.

Five of the nation's largest mortgage servicers will pay more than $123 million to 952 service members and their co-borrowers as part of a settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice over non-judicial foreclosures that violated the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA), according to an announcement from the Justice Department.

Just as they promised when they gained a majority in both the House and Senate in the November elections, Republicans are in talks to chip away at the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, according to a report from Reuters.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced on Tuesday it has levied a $2 million civil penalty against Maryland-based nonbank mortgage lender NewDay Financial for deceptive mortgage advertising and kickbacks.

A sizable new portfolio of agency mortgage servicing rights (MSR) has come to market with days left to go before bidding ends.

Foreclosures in the United States have been steadily declining for months nearly every way the numbers are broken down, and December was no exception, according to CoreLogic's December 2014 National Foreclosure Report released Tuesday. Foreclosure inventory nationwide dropped in December down to 552,000 from 840,000 in December 2013, a decline of 34.3 percent. As of the end of December 2014, approximately 1.4 percent of all homes with a mortgage were in some state of foreclosure – a decline from 2.1 percent from the previous December. The current foreclosure rate of 1.4 percent is the lowest level since March 2008.

New York-based investor Mangrove Partners Master Fund, one of the 10 largest shareholders in Home Loan Servicing Solutions, has delivered a letter to the HLLS Board of Directors with regards to HLSS's relationship to Ocwen Financial Corp., according to an announcement from Mangrove Partners on Monday.

The Federal Reserve Board of Governors and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency have announced a public meeting for Thursday, February 26, to discuss a proposed merger and acquisitions transaction between two financial holding companies that have experienced their share of financial troubles.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported last week that average hourly earnings increased by 12 cents from December to January ($24.63 to $24.75), but U.S. Department of Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew said on Monday more wage growth is needed.

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Julián Castro is scheduled to testify before the House Financial Services Committee on Wednesday, February 11, starting at 10 a.m. Eastern time.