Government

Why Putting the Brakes on Foreclosures Won’t Stop the Crash California did it. Massachusetts and Maryland did it, too. So did Fannie and Freddie. Florida and Ohio are talking about doing it. The sheriff of Wayne County, Michigan, didn’t wait around for a vote: He did it himself.

David G. Kittle, chairman of the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) and EVP at Vision Mortgage Capital, LLC, testified before the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit on Wednesday.

Freddie Mac released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) today, showing that mortgage rates eased this week, following news of a weaker jobs market which may slow consumer spending and keep inflation at bay.

Fiserv, Inc., a Brookfield, Wisconsin-based provider of financial services technology solutions, announced on Thursday that BB&T Corporation, has chosen the company’s Secure Lending solution to electronically deliver disclosures and other pre-closing documents, with an electronic signature option, to borrowers.

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York purchased $27.1 billion in agency mortgage-backed securities (MBS) this week. Total MBS purchases since the government program began in early January now stands at $217 billion.

Mortgage Contracting Services (MCS), a property preservation and inspection services provider based in Tampa, Florida, announced on Thursday that it has been awarded a contract with U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) to perform property preservation work for the government.

McLean, Virginia-based mortgage financier Freddie Mac released its 2008 financial results on Wednesday. For the full-year 2008, the GSE reported a net loss of $50.1 billion, or $34.60 per diluted common share.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) is proposing a major expansion of its Trade Compliance and Reporting Engine (TRACE) to include debt issued by the GSEs, federal government agencies, and government corporations, as well as primary market transactions in new issues.

Irvine, California-based Mavent Inc., a provider of automated regulatory compliance software and solutions to the mortgage industry, has unveiled a new automated compliance engine (ACE) that reviews loans for compliance and eligibility under the Obama administration’s Making Home Affordable program.

Mortgage financier Freddie Mac announced on Wednesday that its board of directors has named John A. Koskinen as the company’s interim CEO and Robert R. Glauber as its interim non-executive chairman.