Government

New data from HOPE NOW shows that the industry completed more than 1.5 million loan modifications for at-risk homeowners from January through October of this year. That translates to an average of 154,000 homeowners per month who have been able to remain in their homes with an affordable loan modification solution. The report makes it clear, though, that there's far more work to be done. HOPE NOW says there are currently 3.4 million homeowners 60 or more days behind on their mortgage payments.

In a move reminiscent of the last time the United States was in such dire financial straits, the FDIC announced recently that it has begun an investigation of executives and other employees of failed banks. In the 1980s and 1990s, the savings and loan (S&L) crisis prompted the government to investigate and prosecute hundreds of bank insiders, sending more than 1,000 to prison, and collecting $4.5 billion. This time around, the FDIC has opened more than 200 civil cases and is seeking to recover around $2 billion.

Since the development of the Hardest Hit Fund in February, the state of Oregon has received more than $200 million to help homeowners struggling with their mortgages and to develop foreclosure prevention measures. This Friday the state will open its first foreclosure prevention program. The application for the Mortgage Payment Assistance (MPA) program will be available on the recently launched OHSI Web site from December 10 to January 14, 2011.

The North Carolina Housing Finance Agency's new Foreclosure Prevention Fund is now available statewide through participating HUD-approved counseling agencies. Financed by the Department of Treasury's Hardest Hit Fund, the federal grant money will be used to financially assist homeowners struggling to pay their mortgages due to job loss or other temporary hardships. The agency expects the program to enable 21,000 North Carolina residents to keep their homes.

Americans continue to grapple with uncertainty about the housing market, with 58 percent of U.S. adults expecting recovery to be at least another two years away. Rick Sharga of RealtyTrac and Pete Flint of Trulia are of the same mind as consumers. They peg the housing recovery to begin taking shape between 2013 and 2014. The robo-signing debacle has left most consumers mired in distrust of banks and the government. The industry experts say its effect on REO sales will be minimal, but the impact on consumer confidence could be especially damaging.

The U.S. Treasury Department has priced a public offering of its remaining 2.4 billion shares of Citigroup Inc. common stock at $4.35 per share, bringing the government's ownership of the nation's third largest bank to an end. The deal should yield about $10.5 billion. Treasury expects to reap total proceeds of $57 billion from its $45 billion investment in Citigroup, netting a tidy $12 billion profit for taxpayers for the bank's bailout. The total amount of TARP funds returned to taxpayers now exceeds $261 billion.

A proposal released Monday by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) would require non-bank residential mortgage lenders and originators to establish anti-money-laundering (AML) programs and to file reports with federal officials when suspicious activity is detected. Under current regulations only banks and insured depository institutions are required to file suspicious activity reports (SARs), which have become a critical tool in prosecuting mortgage fraud and related crimes.

The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) has issued a notice to its approved mortgage lenders outlining the loan limitations it's put in place for fiscal year 2011. According to Mortgagee Letter 10-40 issued by the federal mortgage insurer last week, for forward loans, the limits apply to those that are originated and receive credit approval between January 1, 2011 and September 30, 2011. For reverse mortgages, the limits are applicable to all loans that have been assigned an FHA case number within the stated effective dates.

New data released by the Office of Thrift Supervision revealed another stable quarter for thrifts, which by law are required to have at least 65 percent of their lending in mortgages and consumer loans. The sector experienced a slump for more than a year from Q4 2007 to Q2 2009, but 2010's third-quarter numbers mark the fifth consecutive quarter of positive results. Profits were posted at $1.77 billion, up from $1.49 billion in Q2 and $1.24 billion in the third quarter of 2009. Not all of the details of the report were positive, however.

The Georgia Department of Banking and Finance announced Friday that it has issued a final cease and desist order to Private National Mortgage Acceptance Co., LLC (PennyMac), the company created by several former executives of defunct subprime lender Countrywide Financial back in March of 2008. The order was issued after the Georgia regulator obtained evidence that PennyMac and PennyMac Loan Services engaged in residential mortgage brokering and lending activities without a license.