News

Fitch Ratings released a note Thursday stating that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac won't be slowing down on repurchase requests and focus seems to be shifting from the largest institutions to midtier regional banks.

In a report released Thursday, Wells Fargo's Economics Group cautioned that although the housing recovery is picking up steam, the good news needs to be placed in the larger context of a weakened market. The Housing Data Wrap-Up for June 2012 shows that even with the overall economy slowing, the recovery in the housing market seems to be picking up momentum. A mild winter boosted construction in the Northeast and Midwest during what is traditionally a slow season, giving builders more inventory to sell in the spring.

The Kansas Court of Appeals ruled in favor of U.S. Bank and rejected an appeal of wrongful foreclosure by a borrower, MERSCORP Holdings, Inc. announced in June.

Regulators and servicers are missing opportunities to enhance communication with consumers, the United States Government Accountability Office (GAO) said in a report. The report, released June 29, examined the efforts of servicers to communicate with customers who may be eligible for an independent foreclosure review. One major problem identified with current communication materials is that they are too difficult for the general public to understand.

Out of 11 categories of loan types, only home equity lines of credit (HELOC) rose, according to a report from the American Bankers Association (ABA). The report showed that for the first quarter of 2012, the delinquency rate for open-end home equity lines of credit rose from 1.69 percent to 1.78 percent. Open-end loans are those with a fixed amount of available credit but a balance that changes based on usage. ABA Chief Economist James Chessen attributed the increase to the painful adjustment still underway in the housing sector.

The nation added 80,000 jobs in June, making job growth in the second quarter 225,000 - the weakest quarterly gain in jobs since the third quarter of 2010 when the economy lost 136,000 jobs. The closely watched unemployment rate remained at 8.2 percent, unchanged from May.

In a report released by the OCC Thursday, the banking industry's levels of capital and allowance for loan losses were described as robust and of higher quality, but banks of all sizes are still facing specific risks as they adjust to aftershocks following the financial crises. The main risks the OCC said banks are facing include the effects of a weak housing market, revenue challenges related to slow economic growth and market volatility, and the potential that banks may take excessive risks to improve profitability.

Lawmakers released a damning report Thursday that found Countrywide Mortgage deployed 17,979 loans to peddle influence with elected officials, stall GSE reform, and solicit exclusive access for Fannie Mae and the ultimately doomed mortgage unit over the course of more than a decade. The 136-page report ties off an investigation into the so-called ""Friends of Angelo"" circle that in some cases allegedly supplied mortgages free of upfront fees, origination points, and default penalties to influential insiders and power-brokers.

Field Asset Services (FAS) has decided to transition out of a large property services agreement with a government sponsored entity (GSE), FirstService Corporation announced in a release Thursday.

Barclays was rocked when it was found that the bank's agents had manipulated the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) starting as early as 2007. The bank was fined hundreds of millions by British and U.S. authorities. As a result, a number of key figures have stepped down while Barclays prepares to launch a third party-led investigation into its practices. The news gets worse for the bank, however.