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While the pace of bank closings has slowed this year compared to the year before, in its bank failure report, Trepp noted that there are still more than 200 banks at high risk of failure as of the first quarter of 2012. More specifically, 209 banks are considered to be at high risk of failure on the Trepp Watchlist, three of which failed in April, leaving 204. The high-risk banks are more heavily concentrated in Georgia (41 banks), followed by Florida (32), Illinois (24), Minnesota (12), North Carolina (11), Tennessee (9) and Missouri (9).

At 207,000 permanent loan modifications for homeowners from servicers for the first quarter of 2012, loan modifications decreased by 31 percent compared to a year ago this same quarter, according to data released by HOPE NOW. Of the total, approximately 147,000 were proprietary modifications and 60,225 were HAMP mods. Additionally, 72 percent, or 105,000, of the proprietary modifications had reduced principal and interest payments by more than 10 percent, and 77 percent of the mods included principal and interest payment reductions.

Clarification was offered Monday on misconceptions regarding the REO-to-Rental Initiative, currently in pilot stages. Meg Burns, FHFA's senior associate director for housing and regulatory policy, explained in testimony to lawmakers the purpose and intent of the pilot program, which involves the bulk sale of Fannie Mae REO properties to investors who will then convert their purchases into rental units. Burns made it clear that the program is highly targeted for select markets that have specific characteristics including an oversupply of single-family homes for sale and a strong demand for rental housing.

The expectation for home prices and the percentage of those who think the U.S. economy is on the right path reached record all-time highs in Fannie Mae's April 2012 National Housing Survey. Americans continue to expect home prices to go up, with the projection averaging 1.3 percent over the next 12 months, the highest value recorded. The percentage of Americans who believe the economy is on the right track rose to 37 percent, a 2 point increase from the previous month and the highest level in the survey's two-year history. Still, an even greater 56 percent believe the economy is moving in the wrong direction.

The government's Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) continues to add borrowers to its roster each month, but the pace has slowed. Data released Friday by Treasury and HUD shows the number of permanent HAMP mods granted during the month of March was down 10 percent from the month before and down 45 percent from March 2011. While HAMP activity has slowed, other government-assisted foreclosure alternatives in the form of short sales and deeds-in-lieu have held fairly steady.

While Treasury has stated it recovered $264 billion of the $245 billion invested in TARP, Treasury Assistant Secretary Timothy G. Massad said 343 banks still remain in TARP's taxpayer-funded bank programs. Most of these banks are smaller, community lenders and are having a more difficult time with raising funds from private investors in the capital markets to repay taxpayers, Massad explained in a Treasury blog Thursday.

An Austin, Texas, man was sentenced Thursday to 61 months in prison for his role in a foreclosure-rescue scam that took place in Southern California and elsewhere, Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (SIGTARP) announced Friday. Frederic Alan Gladle, 53, was charged in the Western District of Texas and ordered to forfeit $84,010 and 63 prepaid debit cards he used for his scheme, in addition to this sentence. Gladle pleaded guilty on January 6, 2012, to one count of bankruptcy fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft.

The economy added 115,000 jobs, and the unemployment rate dropped to 8.1 percent. With an upward revision of 53,000, March's payroll growth is now 159,000. Economists expected payrolls to grow by 165,000 for April. The government sector cut 15,000 jobs, and the private sector added 130,000 jobs. With these reported numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, economists from IHS Global Insight, Capital Economics, and Fannie Mae provided their own analysis on what the numbers really mean and what they may indicate for the future.

The nation added 115,000 jobs in April, far below expectations and a drop from March’s revised payroll growth of 154,000, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday. The closely watched unemployment rate dipped again to 8.1 percent – its lowest level since January 2009 (7.8 percent) when President Obama took office – a function of a sharp drop in the nation’s labor force. Payroll gains for February and March were revised, adding 19,000 to the February numbers and 34,000 to March. The average workweek remained at 34.5 hours – still below the level when the recession began in December 2007 (34.6) and average hourly earnings improved by one cent. The number of people not in the labor force increased, as both the number of people employed and unemployed declined.

Freddie Mac reported net income of $577 million for the first quarter of 2012. That combined with $1.21 billion in unrealized gains on securities investments resulted in comprehensive income of $1.79 billion. The GSE's finances didn't sit in the black for very long, however. After a $1.8 billion dividend payment to its primary shareholder, the U.S. Treasury, Freddie's net worth was a deficit of $18 million. Looking at the GSE's loss mitigation numbers, short sales almost equaled the number of loan modifications during the first quarter.