On Friday, IndyMac Bancorp, the former holding company of IndyMac Bank, filed for bankruptcy protection under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code (Title 11, Chapter 7 U.S.C). Shortly after, IndyMac Federal Bank, FSB issued a statement saying that this action has no effect on its operations.

National Default Servicing, LLC (NDS);/*1217887103835*/), a company which performs outsourcing of REO and default services, announced that Rick Lewellen has joined the company as VP of client management.

Under the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 (H.R. 3221), seller-funded down payment assistance (DPA), both direct or through a third party, is prohibited, effective October 1. AmeriDream Inc.‘s president Ann Ashburn issued a statement last week calling for supporters of DPA to press Congress and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to regulate – not eliminate – down payment assistance.

First Priority Bank, based in Bradenton, Florida, was closed on Friday by the Florida Office of Financial Regulation, making it the eighth U.S. bank to collapse this year. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation announced that it has sold First Priority’s $227 million in insured deposits to SunTrust Bank of Atlanta, Georgia.

Default Resource);/*1217886810724*/, a company which provides third-party valuation services as well as internal and loss mitigation training, announced the hiring of Don Davis and Mark Hiatt as VP’s of business development and Frank Marshall as head of business development.

Rep. Scott Garrett introduced H.R. 6659, the Equal Treatment for Covered Bonds Act, last week on Capitol Hill. According to Garrett, the legislation is aimed to help facilitate a robust covered bonds market in the United States and add liquidity and certainty to the nation’s housing market.

Freddie Mac);/*1217862980890*/ released the results of their Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) late last week. The survey found that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 6.52 percent with an average 0.

Although confidence in bank stocks was shaken recently as a result of the closing, then federal takeover of IndyMac, Wells Fargo & Co.,);/*1217826641898*/ announced yesterday that they earned $1.8 billion during the second quarter of 2008 and increased their dividend by 10 percent.

Robert Klein, CEO of Safeguard Properties, a privately held field services company, was among 27 other Northeast Ohio entrepreneurs honored as finalists for the 2008 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award.

Over the weekend, Sheila Bair, Chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), sat down with Judy Woodruff of Bloomberg Television to talk about the outlook of the United States banking industry and the impact the nation’s mortgage crisis has had on it.