Government

SunTrust is under investigation by HUD regarding its FHA loan origination practices. HUD made its investigation known to the Atlanta-based bank April 25, and in a recent filing, the bank said, ""The Company is cooperating with the investigation."" According to the filing, HUD's investigation pertains ""generally to origination practices for FHA loans.""

Nationwide Title Clearing, Inc. (NTC) announced that it approached Congress requesting that a Safe Harbor provision be built into the definition of the Qualified Mortgage (QM). NTC asserted that a strong legal safe harbor provides the best way of achieving congressional intent to balance consumer safeguards with access to credit.

Things are looking up at Freddie Mac. As of the end of the second quarter, Freddie Mac had a positive net worth and reported it will not require a draw from Treasury this quarter. At the end of June, the GSE had $1.1 billion in net worth. The new net worth is the result of $2.9 billion in comprehensive income during the second quarter. About $1.8 billion was paid to Treasury as dividends on 10 percent preferred stock. Freddie Mac's net income of $3.0 billion in the second quarter is a jump from the $577 million recorded in the first quarter.

HARP-assisted refinances drove record refinance activity in the month of June, FHFA revealed Tuesday. The agency released its Refinance Report for June 2012, showing that refinance volume remained strong in June as mortgage rates fell to all-time lows. An estimated 33 percent of refinance volume was done through HARP, the highest percentage since HARP's inception. The report revealed that at the end of June, Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae had refinanced 422,969 loans through HARP in 2012, more than the estimated total of 400,000 for all of 2011. This brings the total number of HARP refinances by the GSEs to 1.4 million.

Governor Pat Quinn of Illinois signed a bill into law Friday that raises fees for mortgage company licenses and fines for those who commit mortgage fraud.

Commercial banks eased standards for residential mortgage loans to meet a sharp increase in demand in the second quarter, the Federal Reserve reported Monday in its quarterly survey of bank lending standards. According to the survey results, a net 52.5 percent of bank officers responding to the Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey reported increased demand for traditional mortgage loans in the second quarter compared with a net 30.2 percent reporting stronger demand in the first quarter.

Eighty metropolitan statistical areas made it onto the National Association of Home Builders' Improving Markets Index for August. This is the same number of markets that made it onto the index in June but four short of the July number. Nine markets dropped off the list this month, unable to maintain their improving status after breaking at least a six-month run of improvement in employment growth, house appreciation, and single-family housing permit growth.

The Federal District Court in Kansas denied the most motions from defendants to dismiss the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) lawsuits over losses from mortgage-backed securities purchased by U.S. Central Federal Credit Union. NCUA Board Chairman Debbie Matz commented on the decision and stating, NCUA is pleased that the court recognized the central merits of our complaints and allowed the cases to move forward.

Two mortgage industry veterans partnered to form DC Solutions Group LLC, an advocacy firm to represent the viewpoints of those in the real estate industry to policymakers who are considering mortgage-related issues.

Governor Deval Patrick of Massachusetts signed into law a bill Friday that will require lenders to first determine the value of modifying a loan before foreclosing on a home. If a modification will bring in a greater financial advantage, then lenders must opt for a modification over a foreclosure.