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Attorney General Urges Indiana Supreme Court to Set Foreclosure Rules

Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller on Monday filed a petition asking the Indiana Supreme Court to impose new procedures for foreclosures filed in the state. Zoeller says with some mortgage lenders trying to foreclose on distressed homeowners by filing court documents that are unverified, unauthenticated, or riddled with errors, Indiana is not going to wait for the federal government to take action to ensure borrowers' rights are protected.

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Regulators: Completed Foreclosures in Q3 Up 57% from Year Ago

New data from federal regulators show that the nation's largest banks and thrifts repossessed nearly 187,000 homes during the third quarter of 2010. The number of foreclosures completed during the three-month period is up 57.5 percent from a year earlier. The report shows that new foreclosures initiated also rose to more than 382,000. Although foreclosure activity increased during the quarter, servicers reported almost twice as many home retention actions as completed home forfeiture actions.

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Bank of America Agrees to $3B Settlement with Fannie and Freddie

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have reached an agreement with another lender to cover repurchase claims from alleged faulty underwriting standards in origination. Bank of America announced Monday that it paid a nearly $3 billion settlement to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac on the last day of 2010 to cover repurchase claims from the two GSEs. According to BofA, the settlement resolves ""substantial legacy issues"" in the best interest of its shareholders, and the company says it is committed to putting such issues in its rearview mirror.

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Ally Financial Reaches $462M Settlement with Fannie Mae

Ally Financial announced that its mortgage unit, Residential Capital (ResCap), and some of its subsidiaries have reached an agreement with Fannie Mae to resolve potential repurchase exposure for breaches in selling representations and warranties. The $462 million settlement releases ResCap and its subsidiaries from liability related to about $292 billion in principal unpaid balances. It covers loans serviced by GMAC Mortgage and any mortgage-backed security that Fannie Mae purchased prior to the settlement.

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Former Comptroller of the Currency Joins Covington & Burling

Former comptroller of the currency John C. Dugan will rejoin Covington & Burling LLP as a partner, according to an announcement from the Washington, D.C., firm. Dugan will chair the firm's Financial Institutions Group and advise clients on legal matters affected by increased regulatory requirements resulting from the financial crisis. Dugan led the U.S. Treasury's Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) for five years, until stepping down from the role on August 14, 2010.

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HUD Awards $73 Million to Housing Counseling Organizations

The Obama Administration announced on Thursday a round of grants totaling nearly $73 million to more than 500 national, regional, and local organizations to provide housing counseling services. Agencies receiving the grants will focus on helping homebuyers and homeowners understand their financing and down payment options, and will help combat predatory lending by assisting borrowers with reviews of loan documentation. The new round of grants represent a 22 percent increase over last year's funding.

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Moody’s Predicts Another Rocky Year for Servicers in 2011

Moody's recently published 2011 Mortgage Servicers Outlook predicts more troubles ahead for servicers regarding foreclosure practices and documentation. The agency says more scrutiny of procedural irregularities could allow for definition of just how bad things are, but the added scrutiny could also lead to the discovery of even more problems with foreclosure practices. Moody's says foreclosure flaws will add at least three months to the timeline it takes to foreclose on properties.

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HAMP Stats Increase in November with Permanent Mods Topping 500K

The government's key foreclosure prevention program has put 504,648 distressed homeowners into permanently modified loans since its launch in March 2009. Treasury released new numbers for the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) Wednesday, and in addition to crossing the 500K threshold, the data show that servicers stepped up their use of the program. Permanent modifications in November rose 26 percent compared to October, and 20 percent more trial mods were started.

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Fed Issues Interim Rule Clarifying Reg Z Mortgage Disclosures

The Federal Reserve Board on Wednesday approved an interim rule amending Regulation Z, which implements the Truth in Lending Act (TILA). The board is issuing this interim rule, in response to public comments, to clarify certain aspects of a September 24th interim rule. The September rule implements provisions of the Mortgage Disclosure Improvement Act (MDIA), which amended TILA to require mortgage lenders to disclose examples of how a loan's interest rate or monthly payments can change.

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New Jersey Chief Justice Threatens to Suspend State Foreclosures

After reviewing a report and recommendations presented to him, New Jersey Chief Justice Stuart Rabner announced on Monday a series of steps to protect the integrity of foreclosure filings in the state. The report featured a review of robo-signing irregularities by mortgage lenders and servicers and included analysis of actions other states had taken.

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