Flagstar Bancorp Inc., the holding company for Flagstar Bank FSB, has announced its intention to commence a public offering of approximately $250 million of its common stock, which will be underwritten by Sandler O'Neill & Partners LP, as book-running manager, and Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, Inc., as co-manager.Read more

Wells Fargo & Company is reporting that as of Feb. 28, the company had 505,832 active trial and completed modifications through its own modification programs and the federal Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP). More than 365,000 of those were non-HAMP active trials in place as of the end of February 2010 and modifications completed since the beginning of 2009. Wells Fargo had 139,065 HAMP active trial and completed modifications in place as of Feb. 28, including 24,975 permanent modifications and 7,533 permanent modifications pending completion.Read more

The U.S. Department of the Treasury and the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) have released February data for the Administration's Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP). As of the end of the month, more than one million borrowers were receiving a median savings of $500 each month, a 36 percent median monthly payment decrease. Permanent modifications have been granted to 170,000 homeowners and an additional 91,800 permanent modifications have been approved by servicers and are pending only borrower acceptance.

Highlights of the report include:Read more

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) has closed on a sale of notes backed by residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) from seven failed bank receiverships. The sale was conducted through a private placement priced and allocated on March 5th. The transaction was met with robust investor demand, with over 70 investors participating across fixed and floating rate series. The investors included banks, investment funds, insurance funds and pension funds. All investors were qualified institutional buyers.Read more

Bank of America has announced that it has completed nearly 21,000 mortgage modifications under the federal government's Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP), according to the bank's latest monthly progress report to the U.S. Department of Treasury.Read more

AIMSdashboard has released the latest version of its Web-based Appraisal Independence Management System (AIMS), featuring several compliance-focused additions. AIMS 4.4 will promote lender compliance with the appraisal independence requirements of the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP), Federal Housing Administration (FHA) Mortgagee Letter 09-28, Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) and the Home Valuation Code of Conduct (HVCC).Read more

Today, March 11, 2010, Mike Anderson, CRMS, vice chairman of the Government Affairs Committee for the National Association of Mortgage Brokers (NAMB) will testify before the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Housing and Community Development at a hearing entitled, “The FHA Reform Act of 2010.” The hearing, which will start at 2:00 p.m. EST and be held at the 2128 Rayburn House Office Building, consisting of two panels: Panel I will include Federal Housing Administration (FHA) Commissioner David H.Read more

Interthinx has enhanced its flagship FraudGUARD product with new variances to help detect occupancy issues related to mortgage fraud. The changes come in response to a disturbing trend the company uncovered in its quarterly fraud risk reports. Occupancy fraud showed a slight quarter-over-quarter increase in the third-quarter 2009 report, which alerted the Interthinx product team to study issues including occupancy fraud, buy and bail schemes, straw buyers, risks associated with delinquency/default, and risks associated with increased home value.Read more

On Dec. 16, 2009, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) published Mortgagee Letter 09-52, which issued guides for mortgage originators in circumstances where borrowers receive a short payoff from their current lender on either a sale or a refinance. Here is a summary of the five things you need to know about these changes:

1. Changes are effective as of Dec. 16, 2009.Read more

Equator, a provider of software to the default servicing industry has announced the launch of its new professional real estate-owned (REO) solution. PRO REO encompasses all the power and best practices of Equator’s enterprise REO application in an affordable, quick and easy to adopt solution. Equator has long been the standard for many of the nation’s largest lenders and servicers. PRO REO is a resounding entry into the middle market.Read more