News

The Texas State Affordable Housing Corporation (TSAHC) recently received a program-related investment in the amount of $500,000 from the Meadows Foundation, a private philanthropic institution based in Dallas, Texas. According to TSAHC, this award will support construction financing for the rehabilitation and development of foreclosed and vacant properties purchased through its Affordable Communities of Texas land banking program.

Tranzact Information Services recently announced the launch of Loyalty Assurance, a new program designed to help lenders achieve ""dramatic improvement"" in customer retention rates. According to the company, this program enables lenders to retain incremental customers by leveraging credit inquiries to help lenders identify customers who are actively shopping for a mortgage loan.

MOS Group, Inc. has expanded its service offerings to include short sales and deeds-in-lieu that comply with the Treasury Department's Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives (HAFA) program requirements. In order to assist borrowers throughout all phases of this process, MOS Group said it is leveraging its borrower-focused methodology, comprehensive employee training and education program, and highly transparent technology platform.

Bank of America's loss mitigation activity under the administration's Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) has risen once again. In an announcement Tuesday, the bank said it converted an additional 16,000 homeowners from trial to permanent contracts in the past month, bringing its total completed HAMP modifications to more than 70,000. However, Bank of America said it does not expect these modifications to be fully reflected in the Treasury Department's monthly progress report.

Fremont General Corp. is back in business. The Anaheim, California-based company, once one of the nation's largest subprime lenders, has officially exited Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings, following the completion of a court-approved reorganization plan by Signature Group Holdings, LLC. Under Signature's plan, Fremont changed its name to Signature Group Holdings, Inc., and the company will now focus on credit-oriented special situation lending and investments in middle-market companies on a national basis.

Subprime mortgage performance appears to have turned a corner, thanks to the administration's Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP), according to Moody's Investors Service. After rising steadily for nearly four years, Moody's says the total delinquency rate among subprime loans held in residential mortgage bonds peaked at 54.4 percent in January 2010. Over the next three months, though, the delinquency rate began to decline as permanent HAMP mods doubled, and as of April, it had dropped to 51.5 percent.

Fannie Mae said Monday that it is extending the time period for servicers to request reimbursement for counseling provided by HOPE NOW Alliance members. The GSE covers the cost of counseling fees paid by its servicers on behalf of borrowers who turn to the HOPE NOW Alliance to resolve mortgage delinquencies.

Lawmakers have promised to provide transparency into the reconciliation of the Senate and House financial reform bills. In line with that commitment, they have released a statement outlining the measures that have been approved so far, including several key mortgage reforms. The final bill outlaws many of the practices that marked the subprime lending boom. It establishes a simple standard for all home loans: lenders must ensure that borrowers can repay the loans they are sold.

Boston-based CWCapital, a full-service national lender to the multifamily and healthcare real estate industries, recently appointed David Lundin as SVP and production manager for the firm's Northeast Federal Housing Administration lending operations. A 20-year industry veteran, Lundin began his career at HUD as a multifamily housing representative, and he has since underwritten in excess of $500 million of HUD-insured loans.

On Friday, the Kentucky Department of Financial Institutions issued a cease and desist order against a mortgage company in Louisville, Kentucky doing business as Home Ownership Possibilities for Everyone LLC (HOPE). The order, which prohibits HOPE from engaging in the mortgage business in Kentucky, alleges that the company operated as a mortgage loan broker without proper licensure.