The Mortgage Bankers Association released its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending July 18, 2008 today. Not surprisingly, the number of mortgage loan applications is on the decline. Last week’s Market Composite Index, which measures mortgage loan application volume, was 489.

According to a report released today by ComplianceTech, the majority of subprime-rate loans in 2006 were made to non-Hispanic whites and upper-income borrowers. The company’s findings are contrary to the way subprime lending has been portrayed in recent media coverage and regulatory dialogue, which has defined subprime-rate lending as primarily a minority and low-income issue.

The House approved the Foreclosure Prevention Act of 2008 today with a 272-152 vote. As we previously reported);/*1216923501193*/, despite the fact that the bill had passed  through the Senate with broad bi-partisan support, there was concern that it would stall in the House, and might even face a presidential veto.

There are six U.S. institutions at risk for failure, according to Richard X. Bove, banking analyst at Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. Inc. However, he says that collectively, banks and thrifts in the United States are nowhere near the precarious climate that existed in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

According to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA));/*1216308594057*/latest Weekly Mortgage Applications survey for the week ending July 11, 2008, the Market Composite Index, which measures the total volume of mortgage loan applications, rose 1.

According to a story the Associated Press);/*1216322563419*/ that ran yesterday IndyMac Bancorp Inc., now IndyMac Federal Bank);/*1216322618720*/, is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for possible fraud in connection with home loans made to risky borrowers.

As influential members of both the Republican and Democratic parties continue to issue statements responding to Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson’s Sunday announcement);/*1216312741880*/ to implement a new plan to provide financial support to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, presidential candidates Sen.

Treasurer Jim Rokakis of Cuyahoga County, Ohio has developed a long-term redevelopment strategy to address the county’s growing number of abandoned properties. If approved by the state legislature, this initiative will enable the institution of Community Improvement Corporations with decentralized county governance, and it will allow counties to design individual plans that are tailored to meet the needs of their communities.

Despite the assurances of Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) chairperson Sheila C. Bair);/*1216244951121*/ on Monday that for most insured depositors, IndyMac’s conversion has been largely a nonevent and the more than 200,000 customers of IndyMac with deposits of $18 billion are fully protected, the Los Angeles Times:javascript:void(0);/*1216245063035*/ reported that problems at multiple branches of IndyMac’s total 33 branches today resulted in customers waiting in line for multiple hours to clear up issues with significant sums of money missing from their accounts.

President Bush held a press conference yesterday and two of the main topics of discussion were declining housing values across the nation and Secretary Paulson’s recently proposed rescue plan for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac);/*1216219962681*/which, among other things, would supply a temporary increase in the line of credit the two government-sponsored enterprises can have with the Treasury.