Government

The industry's robo-signing problems were the focus on Capitol Hill Tuesday. Executives from major banks, including BofA and Chase, were on hand at a Senate Banking Committee hearing to defend the validity of their foreclosure actions and detail changes that have been made to ensure the integrity of the process. But lawmakers were hardnosed and unforgiving in their accusations. And the hearing was not without incident. Testimony was interrupted by the CEO of a nonprofit advocacy group yelling for distressed borrowers to get their say.

The Federal Housing Administration says it has sustained significant losses from home loans insured prior to 2009. As a result, its capital reserve ratio remains below the threshold mandated by law. The agency has $4.7 billion in cash reserves, which equals 0.5 percent of outstanding single-family mortgages insured. The minimum requirement is 2 percent. Despite the shortfall, Commissioner David Stevens says the agency will not need a taxpayer subsidy, and he stressed that even in a worst-case scenario, there's enough money to cover claim losses.

Three community-based lenders were shut down by their regulators over the weekend - two in Georgia and one in Arizona. The number of institutions on the FDIC's failed bank list has hit 146 for the 2010 calendar year. The annual tally has already surpassed the 140 failures seen through the full 12 months of 2009. FDIC Chairman Sheila Bair has said she expects the number of bank collapses to peak in 2010.

Embrace Home Loans, a direct lender for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, has met the licensing requirements of the Secure and Fair Enforcement for Mortgage Licensing (SAFE) Act. The company said it has been preparing for the SAFE Act for more than a year and consequently has invested thousands of man-hours and millions of dollars in resources to ensure all of its loan officers are ready to meet the requirements of the SAFE Act for originating loans in multiple states.

President Obama said Friday that he intends to nominate North Carolina Banking Commissioner Joseph A. Smith, Jr. to head the Federal Housing Finance Agency, which oversees mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. If confirmed by the Senate, Smith will replace Edward DeMarco, who has served as acting director of the agency since September 2009. The timing of Smith's appointment would put him at the center of the administration's efforts to reform the nation's housing finance system and decide the future of the GSEs.

Fannie Mae has issued a notice instructing servicers that have cases at the Law Offices of David J. Stern, P.A. to take immediate action to transfer those matters to other firms in the Fannie Mae Retained Attorney Network in Florida. By November 15, servicers must determine transfer locations for the Fannie Mae matters currently at the Stern firm, notify the new firms, and inform the GSE of the destination for the cases in question.

Members of the commission created by President Obama to shrink the federal deficit published a proposal this week that would significantly scale back the mortgage interest tax deduction. One recommendation would reduce the deduction amount by 20 percent. The second calls for the exclusion of second residences, home equity loans, and mortgages over $500,000. The proposal has drawn criticism from industry groups who say now is not the time to wrench incentives from a housing industry struggling to get back on its feet.

The FDIC has approved a proposal that would change the way it determines how much banks pay for the agency's deposit insurance coverage. Since 1935, individual institutions' premiums have been based on the amount of their domestic deposits. The FDIC wants to amend the assessment scheme so that it is based on the bank's assets instead. JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, and Citigroup could together hand over an estimated $1 billion annually in additional fees under the new structure.

During the third quarter, 2.7 percent of current mortgage balances transitioned into delinquency, according to the New York Federal Reserve. That's up from 2.6 percent that became newly delinquent in the second quarter. Fed officials called the increase ""slight"" but noted that the rise follows a full year of declines in new delinquencies. According to the federal bank's report, about 457,000 individuals received home foreclosure notices on their credit reports between July 1 and September 30, 2010.

Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc. (MERS) has released a statement responding to the accusation by Robert G. Marshall that the company violates a state law because it doesn't pay a fee when a loan changes hands. Marshall requested that Virginia attorney general Ken Cuccinelli launch an investigation on the Reston, Virginia based MERS.