News

The Office of the Inspector General (OIG) for the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) released a report Tuesday highlighting the risks associated with banks that have traditionally serviced mortgages backed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac selling the rights to service troubled mortgages to non-bank servicers that specialize in handling them.

U.S. Bank has agreed to pay the United States Government $200 million to settle claims that it violated the False Claims Act by knowingly originating and underwriting loans insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), underneath the HUD umbrella, that did not meet underwriting requirements for eligibility.

The National Association of Realtors' Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI), which measures contract signings as an indicator of future sales figures, jumped 6.1 percent month-over-month to 103.9. It was the largest one-month increase since April 2010, when the index spiked 9.6 percent as first-time buyers moved to sign purchase contracts to qualify for the First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credit.

Analyzing data from the United States Census, Trulia's chief economist Jed Kolko found that the population growth of millennials in big, dense cities was outpaced by big-city suburbs and lower-density cities. Kolko also found that baby boomer growth in big, dense cities also fell short of growth in the big-city suburbs.

The government of New York is taking further steps to try to stem the tide of foreclosures that still lingers in the Empire State today. New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman announced the launch of the New York State Mortgage Assistance Program, or NYS MAP, which will provide targeted small loans to families with the aim of helping them avoid foreclosure.

The office of the Special Inspector General for TARP (SIGTARP) announced another victory in its fight to detect and punish fraud against banks that received funds as part of the Troubled Asset Relief Program. Michael W. Yancey pleaded guilty on Wednesday to one count of conspiracy to make false statements on a loan application. Yancey was a former senior vice president and commercial loan officer at TARP recipient Farmers Bank & Trust (Farmers Bank) in Great Bend, Kansas.

HUD announced the latest development in its effort to crack down on discriminatory housing practices Thursday. The department reached a settlement agreement in cooperation with the Connecticut Fair Housing Center (CFHC) with respondents Lil-1 Associates, AllPoints Realty and realtor Lillian Polak stemming from allegations that they published discriminatory listings and advertisements for condominiums stating that children were not permitted in the units, in violation of federal law.

The Treasury Department announced Thursday new efforts by the Obama Administration to further stabilize the housing market. During his remarks at the Making Home Affordable (MHA) Fifth Anniversary Summit, Secretary Jack Lew announced an extension of the MHA program for at least one year and a new effort to help jump-start the Private Label Securities (PLS) market.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have completed nearly 3.2 million foreclosure prevention actions since the start of the government's conservatorship of the two companies in 2008. According to the Federal Housing Finance Agency's Foreclosure Prevention Report, 88,000 actions were performed in the first quarter of 2014 alone.

Mortgage performance is on the rise, and foreclosures are on the decline at the nation’s largest banks, according to the first-quarter Mortgage Metrics Report from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC). Representing 48 percent of outstanding first-lien residential mortgages, the OCC report includes data on mortgages at the nation’s seven largest servicers, based on portfolio size, and one federal savings association.