The total United States mortgage loan delinquency rate fell to 6.2 percent in August according to a new report by Lender Processing Services (LPS). August’s rate represented a 3.31 percent decrease from the previous month and a 9.71 percent decrease from August 2012.

CredAbility and ClearPoint Credit Counseling Solutions announced Tuesday that they have agreed to merge the two organizations effective December 31, 2013. The name of the new organization will be ClearPoint Credit Counseling Solutions and its headquarters will be in Atlanta.

Jay Brinkmann, chief economist of the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), has announced that he will retire in early 2014. """"Having the opportunity to work for the mortgage industry through all of the changes of the last 13 years, not to mention becoming MBA's chief economist at the onset of the recession, has been a tremendous but exhausting experience,"""" Brinkmann said.

HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan announced Monday that HUD will speed relief efforts to homeowners and low-income renters who have been affected by recent flooding, landslides, and mudslides in Colorado. Since President Obama declared Adams, Boulder, Larimer, and Weld counties disaster areas last week, HUD is now authorized to provide foreclosure relief and other assistance to families and individuals affected by the flooding.

Albertelli Law, a creditors' rights firm operating in Florida and Georgia, announced Friday a new leadership structure meant to improve efficiency and client service. Scott Barnes, formerly Senior Managing Director at Lender Processing Services, will become the new COO of Albertelli.

Genworth U.S. Mortgage Insurance (USMI) announced Monday that it will reduce rates and expand its Simply Underwrite program, which simplifies the underwriting process for customers that deliver loans through automated underwriting systems of the GSEs. The credit policy changes will more closely align Genworth’s approval process with the automated programs utilized by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

MCT Trading announced that is has been chosen as one of the 2013 Best Places to Work in San Diego by the San Diego Business Journal (SDBJ). The SDBJ’s Best Places to Work Awards are designed to identify, recognize, and honor the best places of employment in San Diego, benefiting the county’s economy, workforce and businesses.

Two men were sentenced to a combined 17 years in prison on Friday for their roles in a nationwide foreclosure rescue scam according to Christy Romero, the Special Inspector General of the Troubled Asset Relief Program (SIGTARP). The two admitted in their pleas that their business was a fraud, and that the scheme allowed them to take possession of hundreds of residential properties and rent them to unsuspecting tenants. The homes ended up in foreclosure, resulting in eviction of the tenants.

A federally funded mortgage assistance program in California has announced a monthly online Servicer Scorecard that will evaluate mortgage servicers on such points as the percentage of applications approved, how long it takes to respond to applications, and the total funding issued per program in that particular month.

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has announced that it will begin accepting electronic signatures in conjunction with its VA Home Loan Program. The move anticipates what some hope will be universally acceptable esignatures and the fully electronic mortgage.