News

Los Angeles' city attorney, Carmen A. Trutanich, announced his office filed a lawsuit against US Bank over allegations that the bank allows its foreclosures to deteriorate into slum conditions and executes illegal evictions, according to a release Tuesday. The complaint cites more than 170 properties as examples of US Bank's illegal conduct. US Bank denied its role in the complaints, stating, ""We are extremely disappointed that the City Attorney's office has chosen to file this lawsuit. The city attorney has chosen the wrong party - we are not the owners of the properties, nor are we responsible for the servicing of the properties.""

The SEC announced Wednesday that the U.S. investment banking subsidiary of Mizuho Financial Group agreed to pay $127.5 million to settle charges of misleading investors. The accused are charged with using dummy assets to inflate credit ratings in order to execute a collateralized debt obligation (CDO) deal. The SEC also charged the firm that served as the deal's collateral manager and the portfolio manager.

In the case Niday v. GMAC Mortgage LLC, the Oregon Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the plaintiffs regarding MERS' right to proceed with a non-judicial foreclosure.

Increased home sales continue to help the United States out of its Great Recession, but uneven job growth is stunting recovery, according to Freddie Mac's U.S. Economic and Housing Market Outlook for July. The report, released Wednesday, showed that record-breaking low mortgage rates and refinances through HARP 2.0 drove up housing demand, leading to increases in housing starts, home sales, and prices in many markets. However, flagging job growth was a major issue.

The U.S. economy continued to expand at a modest to moderate pace in June and early July the Federal Reserve said Wednesday in its periodic Beige Book. The national summary, based on reports from each of the 12 Federal Reserve districts, noted modest growth in the Atlanta, St.

Lake Research Partners released the results of an opinion poll showing that financial reforms enacted in recent years remain popular with potential voters. In light of events leading to 2008's financial meltdown, potential voters seem to overwhelmingly favor financial reform laws designed to prevent abuse. Nearly three-quarters (73 percent) of respondents favor the Dodd-Frank financial reforms, while only 20 percent expressed disagreement.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Amish Helping Fund (AHF) reached an agreement over allegations that the nonprofit's offering memorandum contained outdated and inaccurate information, the SEC announced Wednesday. AHF sells securities to fund mortgage and construction loans to young Amish families. The nonprofit was formed in 1995 by a group of Amish elders who wanted to support the Amish lifestyle. AHF funds its loans for Amish families by selling securities in the form of investment contracts. The SEC alleged that AHF's offering memorandum, which had not been updated for 15 years, had material misrepresentations about the fund and the securities being offered.

Rising home prices and sales signal that the housing recovery may finally be underway, according to RE/MAX. The real estate company released a housing report Tuesday that found closed transactions up 2.1 percent from May and 5 percent from June year-over-year. These figures made June the twelfth straight month for higher transactions. Of 53 metro areas surveyed by the company, 31 offered up increases for both sales and prices. Available homes for sale fell 5 percent from May and 27.4 percent from June last year.

DataQuick reported that home sales in Southern California increased year-over-year for the sixth straight month in June, attributing the increase to ""robust investor demand and significant sales gains for mid- to high-end homes."" In addition, fewer foreclosure re-sales and greater activity in the more expensive coastal counties helped boost the region's median sale price to a two-year high.

During a conference call Wednesday, Acting Federal Housing Administration (FHA) Commissioner Carol Galante announced applications are now being accepted for the Distressed Asset Stabilization Program, which is scheduled to hold its next sale in September. About 40 percent of the loan sale will be concentrated in four hard-hit metro areas: Chicago, Newark, Phoenix, and Tampa, where about 3,500 loans are to be sold. For the next round of sales, there will be new neighborhood stabilization requirements for the selected hard-hit metros. In those areas, no more than 50 percent of the loans may be sold as REOs.