Daily Dose

A statement from the FOMC showed that household spending and business fixed investment rose at solid rates in recent months, while the housing market continued to improve.

Now the White House is threatening to veto that bill as well as another piece of legislation that would allow loans in portfolio to qualify for an exemption under the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)'s qualified mortgage (QM) rule. Both bills passed in the House on Wednesday.

The state of Ohio is taking steps to remedy the vacant and abandoned property crisis, however, and the rest of the country may follow suit. A bill that would reduce foreclosure timelines and therefore shorten the amount of time that residential properties remain vacant in Ohio passed by a unanimous 88-0 vote in the Ohio House of Representatives earlier this week.

October’s increases for the mortgage default rates followed a September which showed declines of eight basis points (down to 0.76 percent) for the first mortgage default rate and 10 basis points (down to 0.47 percent) for the second mortgage default rate.

Fannie Mae’s credit risk transfer program, Connecticut Avenue Securities (CAS), has sold more than $12.4 billion in securities to private investors, which covers $438 billion worth of mortgage loans since the program’s inception in September 2013. Fannie Mae estimates by the end of 2015, it will have transferred a portion of the credit risk on approximately half a trillion dollars worth of single-family mortgages.

Alliant National Title Insurance Company, a title insurance underwriter that partners with independent agents to improve their competitive position in the marketplace, announced that the company has hired Elyce Schweitzer as their new Regulatory Compliance Officer and VP.

The DOJ is reportedly standing by its word and pursuing criminal cases against executives at these two banking institutions for allegedly selling flawed mortgage securities after being warned by associates of their wrongdoings.

Borrower outreach events include HUD-approved housing counselors and mortgage servicers in order to give distressed borrowers a face-to-face meeting to work out a solution such as a permanent loan modification that will allow borrowers to remain in their homes. If a home retention solution cannot be worked out, often a non-foreclosure home forfeiture solution is offered such as a short sale or deed-in-lieu of foreclosure.

In 2014, mortgage debt was the third-highest form of debt among consumers, with 28 percent holding some form of housing-related debt, the report showed. The highest percentage of consumers have mortgage debt in their late 30s through their early 60s. For borrowers with mortgages, debt balances averaged $160,000 in 2014, up from $150,000 in 2010.

H.R. 3189, known as the Fed Oversight Reform and Modernization (FORM) Act, is scheduled for a full House vote this week after passing in the House Financial Services Committee by a 33-25 vote on July 29. The bill is sponsored by Rep. Bill Huizenga (R-Michigan), who is the House Monetary Policy and Trade Subcommittee Chairman.