Government

The U.S. Justice Department and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) are asking Congress to require mortgage companies to retain records for at least 10 years in order to better facilitate fraud prosecutions.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and the Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS) released their Mortgage Metrics Report for the fourth quarter of 2008 on Friday, which showed that re-default rates following loan workouts to help homeowners avoid foreclosure are still escalating.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury, the U.S. Department of Justice, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and the Attorney General of Illinois announced the launch of a new initiative on Monday aimed at foreclosure rescue scams and loan modification fraud.

On Monday, the Treasury Department released additional guidance for potential investors in the securities portion of its Public Private Investment Program (PPIP) and extended the deadline for application to the program.

Denver, Colorado-based LenderLive Network Inc., a company that provides business process outsourcing and technology to the financial industry, announced on Monday that it has successfully launched its first large-scale Home Affordable Modification Program (HMP) campaign with one of the nation’s top four servicers.

The New York Federal Reserve Bank purchased $32.9 billion in mortgage-backed securities (MBS) from government agencies this week. Total MBS purchases since the Fed program began in early January now stands at $303 billion.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are planning to follow through with the payout of retention bonuses to more than 7,500 employees. The two companies plan to award $159 million to executives and key staff members over the next 18 months, on top of the nearly $51 million already paid out in 2008.

The leaders of the world’s largest economies pledged $1 trillion to fight the global economic downturn at the Group of 20 (G20) meeting in London this week. President Obama committed $100 billion from the United States, but the investment must still be approved by Congress.

The Senate Appropriations Subcommittee held a hearing on Thursday to discuss the financial viability of the government’s mortgage insurer the Federal Housing Administration (FHA). According to the Associated Press:http://www.

Freddie Mac released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) on Thursday, showing that mortgage rates dropped again this week, hitting yet another record-breaking low for all loan products in the GSE’s study.