Headlines

Joseph A. Smith, Jr., monitor of the National Mortgage Settlement, filed final crediting reports with the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on Bank of America, Chase, Citibank, and Wells Fargo. The reports confirmed that banks have satisfied their consumer relief and refinancing obligations under the settlement, nearly a full year ahead of schedule.

The California Department of Business Oversight, along with 48 other states, reached a settlement with Ocwen Financial Corporation and Ocwen Loan Servicing, according to a press release issued by the department. The $2.1 billion settlement was in response to violations regarding mortgage servicing laws.

A lawsuit filed last week in a New York federal court alleges that Wells Fargo, the nation's top mortgage provider, created a detailed, step-by-step internal manual on how to retro-sign foreclosure documents originated by other lenders.

Bank credit and money growth both exhibit typical patterns in the post-Great Recession era; however, the change over the time period is consistent with the pace of a subpar recovery. This revelation was reported by the Wells Fargo Economics Group in a release Monday, highlighting the two factors as reasons for caution among both businesses and bank lenders.

Capsilon, a provider of cloud-based document management solutions for mortgage lenders and investors, announced that Greg Marek has joined its executive team as chief marketing officer. Marek will oversee all aspects of the company's marketing efforts and grow Capsilon's marketing team.

RE/MAX released its National Housing report for February, which showed that weather and a lack of inventory continued to push homes sales lower and prices higher. Home prices rose 11.6 percent compared to February, 2013. The median price for a home was $180,450, a 4.3 percent increase from the previous month, and continues a streak of 25 months of monthly price increases.

Move, Inc. filed a lawsuit Monday against Zillow, Inc. and newly hired Zillow executive Errol Samuelson. The suit was filed in the Superior Court of King County, Washington. The lawsuit against Zillow and Samuelson alleges breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, and misappropriate of trade secrets.

According to the latest Home Index Survey released by PulteGroup, Inc., out of more than 1,000 consumers surveyed in February, a combined 74 percent feel the economy is either better off (41 percent) or the same (33 percent) as it was this time last year.

Florida is adding jobs at a pace well ahead of the nation, and one sector in particular is spurring the surprising rate of job growth—homebuilding. Florida's unemployment rate fell .2 percentage points in January to 6.1, according to a report from the Wells Fargo Economics Group.

Stewart Title announced Monday the first electronically closed FHA loan in partnership with Mountain America Credit Union. The companies joined to offer customers an eco-friendly and enhanced closing experience with eClosings.