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Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to Do Away With Attorney Networks

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) has directed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to transition away from their current foreclosure attorney network programs, and move to a system where mortgage servicers will select law firms based on minimum qualifications and uniform criteria. Currently, each GSE designates eligible law firms for individual states, and servicers choose a firm from these lists to handle their foreclosure work. FHFA says the new approach is an extension of the Servicing Alignment Initiative and will lead to greater transparency.

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Multifamily Sector Shows Positive Movement

While the homeownership rate falls, rental demand rises bringing rental rates up and apartment vacancies down -- all of which has led Freddie Mac's chief economist to label the multifamily sector a positive signal for the U.S. housing industry. Frank Nothaft says improvement in the economics of apartment management has prompted an increase in structure values, property sales, and new construction. He notes that many newly-formed households are choosing to rent rather than own in the current, unstable economy.

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Butler and Hosch Announces Executive Appointments

The mortgage banking law firm of Butler and Hosch, P.A. has announced the appointment of Amber Paxton as its new SVP of operations and Tyrutte Kimbrell as VP of vendor relations for the Southern region. Paxton joins Butler and Hosch with more than 15 years' experience that includes managing mortgage default operations in compliance with both GSE and non-GSE guidelines. Kimbrell brings 10 years of experience in default servicing to the firm.

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States and Servicers Consider New Proposal for Aiding Those Underwater

Help for underwater homeowners has moved from principal writedowns to refinancing in the settlement negotiations between state attorneys general and the nation's five largest mortgage servicers. According to a widely circulated report, the proposal made its way into the talks last week. Borrowers who are current on their mortgage payments but owe more than their home is worth would be able to refinance at today's lower rates. The main caveat is that the loan must be owned, not just serviced, by one of the five banks.

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ServiceLink Names Greg Whitworth EVP of Servicing Solutions

ServiceLink announced Tuesday that Greg Whitworth has joined the company as EVP of servicing solutions. Whitworth will help develop ServiceLink's overall default and servicing business strategy, and will focus on building a consulting practice. ServiceLink is a Fidelity National Financial company and currently provides its solutions to 15 of the top 20 mortgage lenders and servicers. ServiceLink's flagship workflow and content management technology, Commerce Velocity, will be a key area of focus for Whitworth.

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Hawaii Launches Foreclosure Dispute Resolution Program

The state of Hawaii has now gone live with its Mortgage Foreclosure Dispute Resolution (MFDR) program. MFDR is a key component of Act 48 signed into law by Gov. Neil Abercrombie this spring and is intended to ""reform the foreclosure process"" in the state, according to government officials. The program is designed to offer owner-occupants of residential property in non-judicial foreclosure the opportunity to meet directly with their lenders to modify their loans or work out an alternative to foreclosure.

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Citi’s Credit Adjustment Yields 74% Increase in Q3 Earnings

Citigroup reported Monday that it brought in net income of $3.8 billion during the third quarter of this year. That's up 74 percent from a year earlier. Third quarter revenues increased, thanks to a $1.9 billion accounting adjustment that allowed Citi to record a gain based on the risk associated with its credit holdings. The company said in its earnings presentation to investors that it remains highly focused on risk management, particularly as it relates to U.S. mortgage exposure.

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Bachus Calls for Higher Guarantee Fees, Cuts in Housing Programs

Republican members of the House Financial Services Committee point to the GSEs and the Obama administration's housing programs as areas for Congress' deficit reduction super-committee to examine as it works toward cutting $1.5 trillion of the nation's debt. A letter drafted by Chairman Spencer Bachus and signed by 20 Republican committee members first calls for an increase in the GSEs' guarantee fees and then the elimination of such programs as HAMP and HUD's Neighborhood Stabilization Program.

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Wells Fargo’s ‘Record’ Q3 Earnings Fall Short of Analysts’ Expectations

Wells Fargo reported net income of $4.1 billion over the July-to-September period. The company called it a ""record"" quarter, but even with profits up 21 percent from the prior year, the numbers were overshadowed by the fact that Q3 results missed market expectations. It's the first time in more than two years that Wells Fargo didn't meet analysts' forecasts. A decline in loan charge-offs and nonperforming assets, as well as an $800 million reduction in loan loss reserves helped to counter declining revenue.

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Moody’s: Citi, GMAC, Ocwen Perform Well

Amid a challenging environment for servicers, CitiMortgage, GMAC, and Ocwen have outperformed major competitors with regards to loss mitigation and foreclosure timelines, according to a recent report from Moody's Investors Service. The company's Servicer Dashboard rates major servicers on their performance from June 2010 to June 2011. Moody's notes that Bank of America's and Chase's performance assessments were affected by large servicing acquisitions and foreclosure moratoria.

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