Through National Foreclosure Mitigation Counseling (NFMC), more than 1.3 million homeowners have received foreclosure prevention counseling by local nonprofits and state housing finance agencies since March 2008, NeighborWorks America announced Monday. So far, the NFMC has also received six appropriations from Congress totaling $619.87 million. According to a report, NFMC clients who had their payments modified saved an average of $176 more per month, and those who received help were nearly twice as likely to obtain a modification.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced Thursday that Bank of America has agreed to pay $161,180 to settle allegations of maternity-based discrimination. A complaint had been filed by the Fair Housing Council of Orange County (FHCOC) against BofA alleging that one of its San Jose branches refused to refinance a woman's mortgage because she was on maternity leave. The Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination in mortgage lending and real estate-related transactions based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, family status, or disability.

If fraudulent documents are found in a foreclosure case, should banks be able to voluntarily dismiss the foreclosure then re-file the case after fixing the error? The answer to this question is currently being decided by the Florida Supreme Court, which heard arguments May 10 for a case titled Roman Pino v. Bank of New York Mellon. If the court does rule in favor of Pino, this would mean servicers would no longer be able to fix documents and refile foreclosures, which would stall or lead to the dismissal of foreclosure cases and make it even more difficult for the judicial state to proceed with foreclosures. While a decision has not been made, Moody's Analytics said the ruling is not likely to fall in favor of the defendant Pino, who is the homeowner the bank tried to foreclose on using a fraudulent assignment of mortgage.

Wilson & Associates, P.L.L.C . named Ted Cummins as an associate partner. Cummins first joined the firm in April of 2007 and his areas of focus include bankruptcy and eviction laws. Cummins was admitted to the Tennessee Bar in 2005 and is a member of the Memphis Bar Association. He was recently admitted to practice in the United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee.

Parks Title announced Monday the addition of Mark Demmer to the company's leadership team as director of finance.

Vice chairman of Stewart Information Services Corp.Stewart Morris Jr. was appointed to the American Land Title Association (ALTA) Board of Governors. The association's Board of Governors is tasked with creating policies and maintaining the financial health and overall welfare of the association.

Declines in the share of REO properties and in the months' supply of unsold inventory are all leading to a revival in home prices, and these drops are being driven, in part, by negative equity, CoreLogic concluded in a report. Prices rose by 1.1 percent in April compared to the year before and 2.2 percent from the month before in March. One factor helping boost prices is the decreasing months' supply of homes. While a lower supply during a time of increasing demand is a positive for home prices, Sam Khater, chief economist for CoreLogic and author of the report, explained negative equity is the main reason behind the low supply, not an increase in sales. Negative equity not only makes consumers more reluctant to buy, but it can also discourage homeowners from selling, leading to a smaller number of homes listed on the market.

The FDIC's Deposit Insurance Fund (DIF) took a combined hit of approximately $80.8 million Friday after the closure of four banks. First Capital Bank in Oklahoma was announced by the FDIC as the first Oklahoma bank and the 25th bank overall to close in 2012. That announcement was followed by three more announcements of the closings of Carolina Federal Savings Bank in South Carolina, Farmers and Traders State Bank in Illinois, and Waccamaw Bank in North Carolina.

ProVest announced Friday that the company has added two officers for compliance and internal audit.

Rosenberg & Associates, LLC added associates Sara Tussey and William Roundtree to their firm which provides legal services to clients in real estate law and creditor's rights.