In New York, Accenture announced its acquisition of Mortgage Cadence, a leading provider of loan origination software and e-document management services.

Close to 2.9 million borrowers who received a payout under the foreclosure review settlement have cashed or deposited their check, the Office of the Comptroller (OCC) announced Friday. The cashed payments represent a value of $2.5 billion. So far, Rust Consulting, the paying agent, has sent out 3.9 million checks worth more than $3.4 billion to eligible borrowers.

Global DMS, a provider of Web-based compliant valuation management software, announced the integration of its valuation management software with DataQuick's Collateral Validation solution.

Dykema, a leading law firm with more than a dozen offices across the United States, named Haydn J. Richards as director of its Financial Industry Group. [IMAGE] I am excited to lead the dynamic team of lawyers behind our nationally recognized Financial Industry Group, Richards said.

Short sales continue to rise along with demand for services provided by selling agents who have the knowledge and experience needed to successfully execute these complex, multifaceted transactions. Although short sales are becoming a bigger part of the housing landscape, ShortSaleAgentFinder.com says there is a shortage of real estate agents skilled in the art of the short sale.

Citigroup reported a net income of $4.2 billion in Q2. The bank's earnings represent a 42 percent increase over Q2 2012's estimated $2.9 billion. According to Citi's quarterly earnings filing, the increase was driven by the higher revenues and lower net credit losses, which were partially offset by higher legal and related costs, a lower loan loss reserve release and a higher effective tax rate.

If two tweaks were made to the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP), refinancing activity could increase substantially, according to a report from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. One change would be to remove the cutoff date that limits eligibility to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans that were obtained by June 1, 2009. The second change would be to allow borrowers to refinance under the program more than once.

In June, an increase in the sale of REO properties drove down the CMBS delinquency rate, bringing it to a three-year low, Fitch Ratings reported. At 7.18 percent, the CMBS delinquency rate fell 19 basis points (bps) from the month before in May and is at its lowest level since March 2010. ""The CMBS delinquency rate is likely to improve further in the coming months as other large REO properties are sold, including a slew from ORIX's portfolio,"" said Scott Pritchard, director at Fitch.

Driven by stronger auto sales and rising gasoline prices, total retail sales increased 0.4 percent in June, down from May’s increase, the Census Bureau reported Monday. Economists had expected sales to increase 0.8 percent. May retail sales were revised to show an increase of percent, up from the originally reported 0.5 percent. The report suggested continuing struggles for the consumer sector, which represents 70 percent of the economy.

The Index of Consumer Sentiment, published by the University of Michigan and Thomson Reuters twice each month (one preliminary reading and one final reading), dropped to 83.9 from June's final value of 84.1. The median forecast among economists surveyed by Bloomberg was 84.7.