Government

The administration released new numbers Friday on the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP). Housing analysts and market observers say the results are disappointing at best. The latest report shows that nearly half of the homeowners approved for trial modifications have fallen out of the program. And during July, servicers converted just 36,695 HAMP trials to permanent status, a significant slow-down considering growth in permanent mods averaged more than 50,000 a month throughout the first half of this year.

In its efforts to protect homeowners and avoid another mortgage and foreclosure crisis, the New York State Banking Department has issued new rules regarding the business practices of mortgage loan servicers. The regulations, which go into effect October 1, include halting foreclosure actions for borrowers being considered for, or currently in, a trial or permanent modification, as well as developing procedures for consumer complaints and ensuring homeowners do not have to submit multiple copies of required documents.

About 50 percent of the loans held by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac come from the nation's four largest banks - Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, and Citi. Lately, the GSEs have become more aggressive in forcing originators to buy back bad loans. Based on Fannie and Freddie's current ""distressed"" numbers (a combined $354 billion in delinquent mortgages and REOs), Fitch Ratings estimates that the big four could be on the hook to repurchase as much as $180 billion in nonperforming assets.

The number of permanent Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) mortgage restructurings completed by Bank of America through July has reached more than 76,000, a number that BofA says continues to lead the industry. In addition, nearly 100,000 Bank of America customers have received non-HAMP modifications this year, including many that did not qualify under the federal program. BofA also reported that it completed 25,000 short sale transactions during the second quarter of this year.

A federal judge is refusing to sanction an agreement between Citigroup and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to settle charges that the company misled investors about its exposure to subprime home loans, even as the subprime market began to unravel. Citi agreed to pay a $75 million penalty to settle the charges, but at a hearing this week, a U.S. district judge asked how the parties could expect her to ""find this reasonable and fair.""

The industry has completed about 975,000 permanent loan modifications so far in 2010, according to estimates released this week by the HOPE NOW Alliance. Of those, only a third have been processed under the umbrella of the federal government's Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP). Two-thirds have been servicers' own proprietary mod programs. HOPE NOW also reports, though, that servicers have initiated more than 1.2 million foreclosures this year.

Loan Value Group recently announced that its Responsible Homeowner Reward (RH Reward) program has been included as an alternative resource in Ohio's Hardest Hit Fund (HHF) plan for homeowners who are underwater on their mortgage but may not qualify for the official state-run programs. The RH Reward program provides cash incentives to homeowners who remain current on their mortgages, and Ohio says it is a valuable incentive to deter strategic default and even reduce principal for some borrowers with negative equity.

Will Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac still be here in three years? Or will they be replaced by a new federal mortgage agency? Or will the government begin a grand exodus from the housing market and leave the conveyance of the American Dream to the private sector? These were the questions addressed Tuesday at the administration's housing finance conference in Washington - a discussion that the Treasury says will help shape its proposal for the future of the housing finance system, including the structure of the nation's two largest mortgage companies.

Gov. Deval Patrick has signed into law a package of foreclosure initiatives that he says will keep people in their homes and stabilize neighborhoods across the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The legislation was deemed an emergency measure by lawmakers. In addition to extending the mandated 90-day right-to-cure on foreclosures created in 2007 to 150 days, it creates new protections for tenants renting apartments in foreclosed buildings and establishes mortgage fraud as a crime.

The U.S. Federal Reserve on Monday published a long list of rules outlining new requirements that will govern compensation to mortgage professionals and disclosures to borrowers regarding their home loans. Among the new regulations are a ban on controversial yield spread premiums, and a stipulation that requires lenders to provide borrowers with a payment table, which includes a ""worst case"" scenario showing the maximum interest rate and mortgage payment they might see over the life of the loan.