News

In a written speech addressing Minority Depository Institutions, Thomas J. Curry, Comptroller of the Currency, spoke on the important role of minority-owned banks while addressing concerns regarding new laws and regulations. Curry discussed the new Basel capital requirements, which are expected to pose challenges for community banks due to the higher capital requirements.

Mortgage applications saw increased activity in the last week of September, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reported. Mortgage application volume increased 16.6 percent in the week ending September 28, according to MBA's Mortgage Composite Index. Meanwhile, the Refinance Index increased 20 percent from a week before to its highest recorded level since April 2009.

In August, lenders in Massachusetts completed the least number of foreclosures since February 2011, according to a report from The Warren Group.Lenders in August completed 566 foreclosures, marking a 40 percent decease from August 2011, when there were 947 completed foreclosures.

Foreclosure inventory continues to decline but remains more than eight times what it was in the decade prior to the housing crisis, according to the latest report from Lender Processing Services (LPS). Noncurrent loans make up 10.9 percent of all loans as of August, demonstrating a year-over-year change of -7.6 percent, according to LPS. As of August, the delinquency rate stands at 6.9 percent, and the foreclosure rate is 4.0 percent. LPS also noted prepayment activity was up ""significantly"" in August, nearing levels last reported in 2005.

Interthinx announced Monday it is teaming up with Middleberg Riddle & Gianna's MRG Document Technologies group to provide financial institutions with assistance in addressing legal and regulatory requirements.

The nation's five largest mortgage servicers had 180 days to implement the 320 servicing standards outlined in the settlement reached with the U.S. Department of Justice and 49 state attorneys general. The standards address such areas as borrower communication, single point of contact, training for loss mitigation staff, and document execution related to foreclosure actions. And as described by the attorneys general's own negotiating committee, to put all the required changes in place involved ""a massive undertaking.""

Three men were arrested Monday for bank fraud connected to the fall of New York's Park Avenue Bank in 2010, the Office of the Special Inspector General for the Trouble Asset Relief Program announced. Wilbur Anthony Huff, Matthew L. Morris, and Allen Reichman were presented in federal court for their alleged roles in the collapse of the Manhattan bank.

Radian Guaranty Inc. will begin offering a program that provides cash rewards to homeowners who stay current on their newly modified HAMP mortgages.

As part of Bank of America's deal in the national mortgage settlement, the bank announced Friday it plans on offering full forgiveness for second liens to certain homeowners. The bank is in the process of mailing about 150,000 letters to pre-qualified homeowners with offers to wipe out their second liens.

New York attorney general and co-chair of RMBS Working Group Eric T. Schneiderman announced a lawsuit against JPMorgan Chase Bank, JPMorgan Securities, LLC (formerly known as Bear Stearns & Co.), and EMC Mortgage LLC (formerly EMC Mortgage Corporation). Schneiderman's complaint alleges that Bear Stearns led investors to believe that the quality of loans in its mortgage-backed securities had been carefully evaluated and would be monitored. The complaint further alleges that as a result of Bear Stearns' and the other defendants' negligence, investors suffered cumulative losses of approximately $22.5 billion.