FIS Foreclosure Solutions, Inc., a division of FIS Default Solutions, recently named law firm Mackie, Wolf & Zientz, P.C. Rookie of the Year for 2008. The Dallas-based law firm opened in late 2006 with the intent of offering comprehensive default legal services to the residential mortgage servicing sector.

The same day that Countrywide Financial Corp. was slapped with lawsuits filed by two State Attorney Generals, Washington State Governor Chris Gregoire announced that her state plans to issue a $1 million fine against Countrywide for preying on minority borrowers, while also attempting to revoke the company’s license to conduct business in the Northwestern state.

Bank of America’s (BofA) acquisition of Countrywide Financial Corp. will be completed on July 1, 2008, and followed by a series of job cuts that are expected to take place over the duration of the next two years.

Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan became the nation’s second state Attorney General to file suit against lending giant Countrywide Financial Corp. on Wednesday. Madigan’s office filed the lawsuit in Cook County Circuit Court accusing Countrywide of satisfying Wall Street investors over borrowers by engaging in risky lending practices that relied heavily on risky underwriting.

News reports surfaced late Tuesday that Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan is filing suit against Countrywide Financial Corp., claiming the lending giant hurt its consumers and the state through unfair and unethical lending practices, according to Reuters news agency.

Living Cities, a philanthropic organization that invests in urban living and city development, has announced two six-figure projects in Cleveland and the Twin Cities that will allow the agency to donate funding to support the revitalization of neighborhoods impacted by foreclosures.

The Federal Open Market Committee has opted to keep the federal funds rate at 2-percent, according to a report released by the Federal Reserve Board on Wednesday. The Federal Reserve System justified this decision, saying a steady rate is appropriate considering economic activity continues to expand and energy prices and a softer job market are increasing inflationary concerns.

California Attorney General Edmund Brown Jr. has filed suit against Countrywide Financial Corp., its Chief Executive Officer Angelo Mozilo and President David Sambol, accusing them of deceiving homeowners by teasing risky ARM loans at low-interest rates and disguising the fact that borrowers were at risk of drowning under the weight of their mortgages once their teaser rates reset.

Despite lower rates and an influx of inventory, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reports in its latest Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey that the number of mortgage applications filed for the week ending June 20, 2008, declined from the week prior.

A foreclosure prevention and housing package proposed in the United States Senate is a step closer to a positive vote in the Senate with Senators voting 83-to-9 on Tuesday that the legislative body approves the bill in its current form and is ready to move forward with an official Senate vote.