Headlines

The Office of Inspector General (OIG) for the Federal Reserve System released an executive summary outlining an audit performed on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to assess the bureau’s operational efficiency and effectiveness. The OIG noted the difficult task associated with the creation and implementation of the new agency; however, the OIG found that improvements could be made.

Poppi Metaxas, former president and CEO of Gateway Bank of Oakland, California, was charged with bank fraud, bank fraud conspiracy, and perjury in relation to a sham "round trip" transaction. The scheme, initiated by Metaxas, caused Gateway to execute a false transaction in which the bank self-funded a down payment to make it appear that Gateway had sold toxic, non-performing mortgage loans.

Associa announced the appointment of Tom Larkin as a SVP of information technology and interim CIO. Associa is a community association management firm based out of Dallas, Texas.

CoreLogic released its National Foreclosure Report for February, 2014, reporting 43,000 completed foreclosures for the month, a 13.1 percent decrease from January, 2014. Yearly, foreclosures declined 15 percent from February, 2013.

Vacation home sales rose in 2013, while investment purchases fell below the higher levels seen in previous years, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). NAR’s 2014 Investment and Vacation Home Buyers Survey found vacation-home sales jumped 29.7 percent to an estimated 717,000, while investment-home sales fell 8.5 percent to an estimated 1.1 million in 2013.

According to the UCLA Anderson Forecast, the one-two punch of harsh winter weather in the East and a nagging drought in the West (namely California) stalled industries from real estate to factory production, putting a tight chokehold on the national economy.

Consumer sentiment retreated last month to an index reading of 80.0, down 2 percent from February’s 81.6 but an improvement on last year’s 78.6, according to a report released by Thomson Reuters and the University of Michigan’s Survey Research Center.

Construction spending rose for the month of February, realizing a .1 percent increase after a downward revision to January’s figures. This analysis was presented by the Wells Fargo Economics Group, who found monthly non-residential construction spending rose .6 percent, while residential construction fell .7 percent month-over-month.

In a press release issued Wednesday by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), the FHFA reported that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have completed 3.1 million foreclosure prevention actions since the two companies came under the government’s conservatorship in 2008.

The monthly volume summary issued by Fannie Mae reported further contraction in its book of business for the second time this year and the third in as many months. The book’s total value was approximately $3.15 trillion.