Government

In the face of new loan officer compensation rules to take effect on April 1, one trade group is fighting back with threats of legal action against the Federal Reserve Board. The National Association of Independent Housing Professionals (NAIHP) said on its Web site that it has also held several high level meetings with various agencies like the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission, and with high powered administrators like Elizabeth Warren.

The latest loan officer survey from the Federal Reserve shows a more positive outlook for certain sectors of the lending industry, but says little improvement is expected in residential real estate this year. Although, about 45 percent of banks responded that they experienced recent growth in their residential mortgage portfolios, despite weakened demand. Around one-third reported having originated a large amount of loans that are not eligible for guarantee by the Federal Housing Administration and cannot be sold to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

New Vista Asset Management has been approved by HUD to serve as a subcontractor to RiskSpan's oversight and review of the HUD Homes REO disposition program. RiskSpan selected New Vista to augment its team to support the HUD oversight contract activities, including review of the structure and content for key performance and process reports used to determine the effectiveness of HUD's third generation of Management and Marketing (M&M III) contractors.

Alabama Governor Robert Bentley recently announced the creation of Hardest Hit Alabama (HHA), a new program that will provide $162 million for foreclosure prevention efforts in the state. The Alabama Housing Finance Authority will use the money, which was allocated by the U.S. Treasury, to provide temporary assistance to unemployed or underemployed homeowners in the state to help them stave off foreclosure while they search for work.

Two entities charged with setting accounting standards for financial instruments have released a proposal that would require lenders to account for anticipated losses on loans earlier, in what is being described as a fundamental shift from current practices. The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) and the U.S. Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) have published a joint proposal that entails moving to an 'expected loss model' from the current 'incurred loss model.'

With all types of fraud steadily rising, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg's Financial Crime Task Force has set up two programs to help fight mortgage fraud in New York City. According to the CoreLogic Fraud Index, fraud losses for 2010 are estimated to be $11 billion, and according to the FBI, New York is one of the top ten states with significant mortgage fraud issues.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) is restructuring its safety and soundness and mission offices this week, including establishing an integrated supervision structure and a revamped housing mission and policy division. The agency says changes in the supervision program structure will promote greater uniformity and consistency in the examinations of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the Federal Home Loan Banks.

California's attorney general says the $6.5 million settlement from two former Countrywide executives will be used to establish a fund to help foreclosed homeowners. The settlement comes from a litigation that began more than two years ago against Angelo Mozilo and David Sambol. According to the lawsuit, Countrywide lured buyers with low teaser rates and failed to inform them of the downsides of adjustable-rate loans. The suit alleged that Mozilo and Sambol knew of these practices and did nothing to stop them.

Freddie Mac announced this week that its multifamily whole loan and bond guarantee business had approximately $15 billion in volume in 2010, down from $17 billion in 2009. The volume includes Freddie Mac's targeted affordable housing products. Last year Freddie Mac's multifamily business settled more than $13 billion through the GSE's conventional programs.

In more bad news for the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP), three congressmen, Reps. Jim Jordan, Patrick McHenry, and Darrell Issa have proposed a bill to end the program. Issa is chairman of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee and introduced the bill at the committee's first hearing last week. HAMP took a beating at the hearing from the lawmakers. They called the program a ""colossal failure"" and said it's just one more example of why government interference in the private sector doesn't work.