News

The U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Financial Services announced late Monday that it would hold a hearing on proposed legislation aimed at reforming the Federal Reserve.

The Federal Reserve Board published a report Monday defending and showing the progress of the Independent Foreclosure Review and subsequent Payment Agreement between the board and 15 large mortgage servicers. Between April 2011 and April 2012, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and the Federal Reserve issued enforcement actions against 16 mortgage loan servicers for inadequate foreclosure and mortgage loan servicing practices.

Consumers believe that their outlook is getting better. But they are not necessarily ready to participate in the housing market just yet. The June Housing Survey released by Fannie Mae shows that consumer sentiment toward the housing market is continuing to improve as the overall economic outlook improves but it still sits well below the level necessary for the market to normalize.

GFS Capital Holdings, formerly Greenlight Financial Services, settled a claim with HUD regarding discrimination of women on maternity leave. The company agreed to pay a total of $48,000 to individuals against which it allegedly discriminated. HUD investigated Greenlight after a family complained the company denied their refinance loan application because the wife was on maternity leave at the time.

Mortgage rates barely budged heading into the Independence Day weekend, keeping them below last year's levels. According to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey, the average interest rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) product was 4.12 percent (0.5 point) for the week ending July 3, down 2 basis points from the final June survey.

Popular, Inc., Puerto Rico’s largest bank began its exit from the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) as the Department of the Treasury announced that it had accepted final repayment of $946 million.

In a filing with the SEC, Suntrust Banks, Inc. announced Thursday afternoon that it would pay up to $320 million to halt a criminal investigation into whether it had dealt inappropriately with homeowners who were looking to take advantage of the Home Affordable Modification Program. Several government agencies had been investigating SunTrust in connection with complaints that it misled homeowners who sought mortgage relief from SunTrust through HAMP and failed to timely process HAMP applications.

The home price recovery moved in a less focused and more broad-based direction in May as available listings sank, a housing trend report shows. According to Realtor.com, the median listing price of homes in May this year was $214,900, a rise of 8 percent compared to year-ago levels. Month-over-month, prices ticked up 2.4 percent

Freddie Mac announced a move Wednesday aimed at reducing the risk to the taxpayer associated with its credit exposure in the residential mortgage market. The Enterprise has obtained a number of insurance policies underwritten by a panel of “well capitalized insurers and reinsurers”.

According to numbers from the Labor Department, employers added 288,000 jobs last month, soaring above economists' consensus forecast of 211,000 new jobs. Meanwhile, payroll additions for April and May were revised up to 304,000 and 224,000, respectively, bringing gains in those months up 29,000 higher than previously reported.