Government
By Mark Lieberman, Five Star Institute Economist | 06/19/2013
With a somewhat upbeat assessment of the economy, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) said Wednesday it would continue its policy of near-zero interest rates and its $85-billion-per-month bond-buying program. In the statement issued at the conclusion of its two-day meeting, the committee said it "sees the downside risks to the outlook for the economy and the labor market as having diminished since the fall," a more optimistic assessment than May 1 when the Committee said it "continues to see downside risks to the economic outlook."
Read More
By Esther Cho | 06/19/2013
After testing compliance among the five servicers part of the $25 billion national mortgage settlement, monitor Joseph A. Smith concluded more work needs to be done since issues with the loan modification process, providing a single point of contact, and customer records still persist. Under the settlement, Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Citi, and Ally Financial agreed to adopt some 300 servicing standards. To verify compliance with the servicing standards, the monitor retained outside firms to test the servicers in 29 metrics.
Read More
By Krista Franks Brock | 06/18/2013
Home Equity Conversion Mortgages (HECMs) and reverse mortgages, tools to which many seniors turn to help manage expenses in their later years, can be challenging products to navigate, according to testimonies delivered during a Senate committee hearing Tuesday morning. While the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) considers changes to the HECM program, the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs held a hearing to determine the best path forward for the program.
Read More
By Esther Cho | 06/18/2013
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) plans to grow its staff in order to meet its strategic goals and stay in compliance with its mandate to protect consumers, according to a written testimony from Stephen Agostini, CFO at the bureau. Agostini, who gave testimony before the House Financial Services Committee Tuesday, stated that over the next two fiscal years, CFPB expects its staff to increase from 1,214 employees in the Fiscal Year 2013 to 1,545 employees in 2014.
Read More
By Esther Cho | 06/18/2013
From new regulations to increasing fines, financial institutions--both large and small--reported feeling more squeezed by compliance and risk management pressures since the start of the year, according to survey results from Wolters Kluwer Financial Services. In January, the Indicator began with a baseline score of 100 after the company surveyed 400 banks and credit unions. After surveying 430 similar institutions in April, Wolters Kluwer Financial Services reported a score of 136.
Read More
By Mark Lieberman, Five Star Institute Economist | 06/18/2013
One day after the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) reported the sharpest boost in builder confidence in seven years, the Census Bureau and HUD reported single-family starts were essentially flat in May, increasing just 0.3 percent. The Census/HUD report Tuesday showed total starts improved 6.8 percent in May, while total permits fell 3.1 percent.
Read More
By Esther Cho | 06/14/2013
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency announced more than 2.7 million foreclosure review checks have been cashed or deposited as of June 13. The cashed checks are valued at $2.4 billion and are part of a foreclosure review settlement reached between federal regulators and 13 servicers.
Read More
By Mark Lieberman, Five Star Institute Economist | 06/14/2013
In a newly published paper posted on the New York Federal Reserve website, Robert Hockett, a Cornell University professor of financial and monetary law, proposes using government's eminent domain authority as a solution to underwater mortgage debt. In reviewing Hockett's suggestion, the Wall Street Journal concentrated not on the idea itself, but on the fact that Hockett "turns out to have been on the payroll of none other than Mortgage Resolution Partners." There may be a lot of good reasons to discard Hockett's suggestion, but his past relationships are not among them. His idea deserves a fair hearing, not a digression.
Read More
By Esther Cho | 06/14/2013
The recent rise in mortgage rates is not enough to pose any real threat to the housing recovery, but that's not to say the increase doesn't come with any risk, according to a recent analysis from Capital Economics. To put things into perspective, Ed Stansfield, chief property economist at Capital Economics, noted that on a long-term view, rates are still "exceptionally low" as they return to levels seen in late 2011 and early 2012. However, 18 months ago, when mortgage rates hovered around the levels seen today, "house prices were at best flat, if not still edging lower, while the recovery in housing sales was very much in its infancy," Capital Economics stated.
Read More
By Krista Franks Brock | 06/14/2013
Foreclosure sales decreased in all five Western states tracked by PropertyRadar--Arizona, California, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington--over the month of May. PropertyRadar attributes the decreases in foreclosure sales to new guidance from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. The guidance established minimum standards for handling borrower files subject to a foreclosure sale within 60 days. In California, foreclosure sales from Citi were down 50 percent, and foreclosure sales from Wells Fargo were down 75 percent over the month of May in California, according to PropertyRadar.
Read More
