The Federal Reserve has just released an update on the Independent Foreclosure Review for borrowers who had mortgages serviced by the former subsidiaries of Goldman Sachs (Litton Loan Servicing) and Morgan Stanley (Saxon Mortgage Services). A mistake was made by Rust Consulting Inc. when sending out the original payment so borrowers will receive an additional check that will be sent out around May 17th.

Uncle Sam may be good at many things - but collecting fines and paying them out isn't one of them. U.S. federal agencies corral only a small fraction of the penalties they levy. Foreclosure-abuse settlements with domestic banks show they're just as bad at doling out lawsuit proceeds to victims. Government glitches are always to be expected. But such widespread incompetence only encourages scofflaws.

A single Bank of America shareholder suggested that it might not be such a bad idea for the bank to put together an independent review system for its mortgage servicing operations. It's no surprise that Josh Zinner would do so at the company's annual shareholders meeting. After all, he is with the community advocacy group Neighborhood Economic Development Advocacy Project.

You know that national mortgage settlement causing Bank of America and Wells Fargo a new round of heartburn this week? Turns out others involved in the settlement are stumbling as well.

Bank of America finally agreed to settle its 5-year mortgage fight with MBIA. The settlement entitles the bond insurer, MBIA, to a payment of $1.6 billion from Bank of America. In addition, Bank of America will pay back its other debts to MBIA. It will also extend a $500 million credit line to MBIA.

The housing market is heating up, yet many house hunters are not prepared to take on the biggest purchases of their lives.

When is $33 billion a bargain? When you're a lawyer for Bank of America rying to put a lid on mortgage-related legal costs related to Countrywide. Actually, that $33 billion figure is almost certainly light, but more on that later. Before we get into all the whys and wherefores, let's take a moment to celebrate the people who make America great: our lawyers, of course!

Freddie Mac, the U.S.-owned mortgage-finance company, will pay $7 billion to the Treasury Department after reporting the second-largest quarterly net income in the company’s history.