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Freddie Mac Files Suit Against 12 Banks Over Libor Scandal

The story of the London Interbank Offered Rate (Libor) scandal added another chapter in March as Freddie Mac brought suit against Barclays, Bank of America, Citibank, and several other institutions for investment losses related to alleged rate-rigging practices. The GSE filed March 14 against a dozen banks for ""punitive damages to the extent allowable by law"" as well as for the cost of attorneys and legal fees. A number for damages sought was not specified.

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Hope LoanPort Platform Enables Seamless Servicing Transfers

Hope LoanPort (HLP) explained how its platform can help facilitate mortgage servicing transfers following an announcement from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) regarding plans to monitor transfer activity more closely. The HLP structure helps parties involved in the process by allowing existing cases to be transferred between registered mortgage servicers without having to deal with lost documents or the need to resubmit applications for mortgage relief.

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FOMC Continues Interest Rate, Investment Policies

With an upbeat assessment of the economy, the Federal Open Market Committee voted 11-1 Wednesday to leave interest rates unchanged and to continue its program of purchasing agency mortgage backed securities and longer term Treasury securities ""to maintain downward pressure on longer-term interest rates, support mortgage markets, and help to make broader financial conditions more accommodative.""

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Trulia: Owning Costs 44% Less than Renting

Home price gains may be outpacing increases in rent, but the cost of being a homeowner is still much less than that of a renter, according to Trulia’s Winter 2013 Rent vs. Buy report. After factoring all cost components, Trulia found buying a home is 44 percent cheaper than renting, down slightly from 46 percent a year ago. Yet, in the last year, asking home prices showed a 7 percent gain compared to a 3.2 percent increase in rents during the same time period, according to data from the real estate site.

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Average Months in Distress Extended in Judicial, Non-Judicial States

The time properties stay in distress before going to sale has increased nearly five fold since 2003 in non-judicial states, according to CoreLogic's March MarketPulse report. The data provider tracked months in distress from 2003 to 2012 and found the disposition timeline in both judicial and non-judicial states has seen a significant extension. In judicial states, the disposition timelines remained relatively constant at seven months but began to rise in mid-2008 before increasing to an average of 35 months. In non-judicial states, it takes about 24 months before a distressed property goes to sale.

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DeMarco Outlines Three Scenarios for Future of Housing Finance

Speaking before the House Financial Services Committee at a hearing Tuesday morning, Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Acting Director Edward DeMarco presented his take on sustainable housing finance and what the future of housing finance might look like. DeMarco began his testimony at Tuesday's hearing, ""Sustainable Housing Finance: An Update from the Federal Housing Finance Agency on GSE Conservatorships"" by reiterating his goals for the GSEs this year. He then went on to describe three possible scenarios for the future of the housing finance system and the government's role in that system.

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Cordray Nomination Approved by Senate Committee

Richard Cordray's nomination to continue leading the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is headed to the Senate following a vote from the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Tuesday. The committee confirmed Cordray's nomination by a party-line vote of 12-10, with Republican members keeping to their vow to not support any potential leader until CFPB's structure is fundamentally changed. Also up for vote was the nomination of Mary Jo White to head the Securities and Exchange Commission. White was approved by a vote of 21-1.

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Experts Offer Proposals for Housing Finance Reform at Hearing

Three industry analysts gave testimony before a Senate committee on housing finance reform Tuesday. While all three experts expressed support for more private capital and less government involvement, the proposed degrees of government support varied. Mel Martinez, co-chair of the Bipartisan Policy Center's Housing Commission, recommended the elimination of the GSEs over a period of about 5-10 years and the creation of a limited, government guarantee called the ""Public Guarantor.""

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CoreLogic: 1.7M Homes Moved into Positive Territory in 2012

In the fourth quarter of 2012, about 200,000 residential properties transitioned out of a state of negative equity, bringing the 2012 yearly total to 1.7 million properties, CoreLogic reported. According to the data provider, there were still 10.4 million homeowners who were underwater as of the end of Q4; the figure represents 21.5 percent of all residential properties with a mortgage. Out of the 10.4 million properties, 1.8 million have a loan-to-value (LTV) ratio between 100 and 105 percent. Thus, these properties need prices to rise by 5 percent to transfer into positive territory.

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Prommis Holdings Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy

Prommis Holdings Inc., along with 10 of its affiliates, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware. Bloomberg first reported the story Monday and revealed the company listed debt of more than $50 million and assets of as much as $50 million in the filed documents. Prommis provides technology-enabled processing services for the default resolution sector of the mortgage industry.

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