Mortgage

McLean, VA – Freddie Mac (NYSE: FRE) announced today that it plans to issue a new two-year USD Reference Notes® security, CUSIP number 3137EACK3, due on July 27, 2012. The issue will be priced on Thursday, May 27, 2010, and will settle on Friday May 28, 2010, at benchmark size

BOSTON, MA - May 25, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- MassHousing recently honored Cape Cod Five Cents Savings Bank for being the Agency’s top-producing lender in Barnstable County in 2009.

KANSAS CITY, MO - May 25, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Beth Phillips, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced today that two more defendants have pleaded guilty in federal court to charges related to mortgage fraud schemes, including a $12.6 million conspiracy that involved 25 upscale residential properties in Lee’s Summit, Missouri and Raymore, Missouri and a property-flipping scheme in Kansas City, Missouri.

McLean, VA - May 25, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Freddie Mac (NYSE: FRE) today issued the company's Monthly Volume Summary for April 2010. The summary, available on the company's Web site at www.FreddieMac.com/investors/volsum, provides information on Freddie Mac's mortgage-related portfolios, securities issuance, risk management and delinquencies, including data on seriously delinquent mortgage loans in related mortgage Participation Certificate (PC) pools.

McLean, VA - May 25, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Freddie Mac (NYSE: FRE) today announced the appointment of Mike McRoberts as vice president of Multifamily Production and Sales. In this position, McRoberts is responsible for the origination and purchase of conventional multifamily loans nationwide, the Program Plus® Seller/Servicer network and the four multifamily regional sales offices.

ATLANTA, GA - May 24, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Georgia’s mortgage loan originators now have additional time to comply with the federal S.A.F.E. Mortgage Licensing Act of 2008 certification regulations thanks to the efforts of Sen. Donzella James (D-College Park). James, and loan originators from her district, met with the Georgia Department of Banking and Finance this week to propose an extension for certification requirements from April 31, 2010 to July 31, 2010. James worked diligently to extend the deadline after learning that many of her constituents were unaware of the new federal requirements.

Washington, DC - May 24, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Representatives from more than a dozen mortgage servicers plus several local HUD-approved housing counselors were on hand last week in Anaheim and San Bernardino, California to assist struggling homeowners with their mortgages

McLean, VA - May 24, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Freddie Mac Chief Executive Officer Charles E. Haldeman, Jr. made the following statement in response to the Federal Housing Finance Agency's (FHFA) announcement of the Uniform Mortgage Data Program

Washington, DC - May 24, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) has announced a major new initiative by Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae (the Enterprises) to improve the consistency and quality of data for appraisals and other loan information. This will enhance the depth of collateral, borrower and loan data submitted to the Enterprises. The Uniform Mortgage Data Program is a long-term, joint effort to create improved and uniform data standards and collection processes. The Enterprises have worked with industry participants to develop the uniform standards.

WASHINGTON, DC - May 21, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- A major $3 billion mortgage relief provision authored by Rep. Chaka Fattah (D., Pa) is included in the Wall Street and Consumer Protections Act approved Thursday by the Senate.

AUSTIN, TX - May 21, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA) announced that beginning today the State will make available the first $50 million under an unprecedented $500 million in new mortgage revenue bond authority.

CLEVELAND, OH - May 21, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- County Prosecutor Bill Mason and the Cuyahoga County Mortgage Fraud Task Force operating under authorization of Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray and Ohio’s Organized Crime Investigations Commission announced that Mark Kellogg was sentenced to 14 years on May 19, 2010 for operating a large mortgage fraud scheme in Slavic Village. Kellogg was ordered to pay restitution of $5,831,500 to lenders and $186,715 to 109 neighbors who sold properties located on the same city block as the foreclosures resulting from mortgage fraud

WASHINGTON, D.C. - May 21, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Robert E. Story, Jr., CMB, Chairman of the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) issued the following comment today, reacting to passage of S. 3217, the Restoring American Financial Stability Act of 2010.

COLUMBUS, OH - May 19, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- In a case symbolic of the nation’s foreclosure crisis, a mortgage broker was sentenced today in Cuyahoga County for orchestrating a mortgage fraud scheme that involved $5.8 million in bogus loans and 78 homes in Cleveland’s Slavic Village.

May 20, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Georgia Department of Banking and Finance (Department) has just received confirmation from the U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the federal administrator of the S.A.F.E. Mortgage Licensing Act of 2008, that individuals may continue to conduct business as mortgage loan originators without being licensed until the close of business on July 31, 2010. Therefore, in an effort to minimize possible interruptions in employment the Department will allow loan originators lawfully employed by Georgia mortgage brokers and lenders to continue to work in the industry until the close of business on July 31, 2010, unless they have been notified otherwise by the Department

LOS ANGELES, CA - May 20, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. today announced that nine men engaged in a Southern California boiler room, tricked out in high-roller style with a roulette wheel and other casino equipment, have been charged with 97 criminal counts for stealing at least $2.3 million from more than 1,500 desperate homeowners who were promised loan modifications but received no relief.

Las Vegas, NV - May 19, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Division of Mortgage Lending continues to diligently enforce mortgage lending laws by disciplining 10 entities for various violations of those laws.

SALT LAKE CITY, UT - May 19, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- A federal grand jury returned a 15-count indictment Wednesday afternoon charging Joshua Lee Butcher, age 28, of Salt Lake City, with bank fraud and false statements to a financial institution in what the indictment alleges was a scheme to get construction loans approved using false pretenses.

ANNAPOLIS, MD - May 20, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Governor Martin O’Malley joined Lt. Governor Anthony Brown, Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr., and House Speaker Michael E. Busch in signing a tough new law bringing mortgage giants to the table when beginning a foreclosure proceeding in Maryland. This morning, Governor O’Malley met over breakfast with more than 200 faith leaders, acknowledging their efforts in foreclosure prevention outreach and their role moving forward under this new legislation.

McLean, VA - May 20, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Freddie Mac (NYSE:FRE) today released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey® (PMMS®) in which the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 4.84 percent with an average 0.7 point for the week ending May 20, 2010, down from last week when it averaged 4.93 percent. Last year at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 4.82 percent. Once again, the 30-year FRM has not been lower since the week ending December 10, 2009, when it averaged 4.81 percent

WASHINGTON, D.C. - May 20, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- James H. Danis II, CMB testified today on behalf of the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) before the House Veterans Affairs Subcommittee Economic Opportunity at a hearing on “The Status of the Loan Guarantee Program.”

Washington, DC - May 20, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will deploy a complaint process for violations of the Home Valuation Code of Conduct (HVCC), according to a letter from FHFA Acting Director Edward J. DeMarco to New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo. The letter, which outlines developments with the HVCC and related agreements, states that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, now in conservatorship, will not be funding the Independent Valuation Protection Institute (IVPI).

May 19, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Hawaii’s Largest Privately Held Mortgage Banking Institution Diversifies to Succeed and Thrive in Today’s Challenging Mortgage Industry (Honolulu, Hawaii), May 17, 2010 – Remaining strong in a currently challenging mortgage industry, NorthStar Family of Companies, Hawaii’s largest privately held mortgage banking institution, is proudly celebrating 10 years of providing Hawaii’s homeowners with efficient and competitive mortgage programs. “Our success in today’s mortgage industry is due to the fact that, when the market turned, we diversified the business into appraisals, real estate sales and development, and a work-force development program,” said Cathy Brogan, president and CEO of NorthStar Family of Companies. While over 70% of mortgage brokerage and real estate companies throughout Hawaii and across the country have been forced to shut down, NorthStar Family of Companies has remained able to not only succeed, but to also thrive, in one of the most difficult mortgage industry periods over the past 100 years.

BOSTON, MA - May 19, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- MassHousing recently honored 12 of its 2009 top-producing lending partners at the Agency’s annual Homeownership Awards Ceremony. The annual event recognizes MassHousing’s lending partners for their excellence in promoting and originating MassHousing Mortgage products for Massachusetts residents.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - May 19, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) today released its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending May 14, 2010. The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, decreased 1.5 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index decreased 3.1 percent compared with the previous week

WASHINGTON, D.C. - May 19, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The delinquency rate for mortgage loans on one-to-four-unit residential properties increased to a seasonally adjusted rate of 10.06 percent of all loans outstanding as of the end of the first quarter of 2010, an increase of 59 basis points from the fourth quarter of 2009, and up 94 basis points from one year ago, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) National Delinquency Survey. The non-seasonally adjusted delinquency rate decreased 106 basis points from 10.44 percent in the fourth quarter of 2009 to 9.38 percent this quarter

May 18, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Superintendent Will Lund from the Bureau of Consumer Credit Protection announced on Tuesday that Maine will make it easier and more efficient for mortgage lenders to apply for and manage their licenses by joining the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System (NMLS). The change will also protect Maine consumers by increasing oversight of the mortgage activities of loan originators in other states.

Washington, DC - May 18, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- First quarter 2010 commercial and multifamily mortgage loan originations were 12 percent higher than during the same period last year and 26 percent lower than during the fourth quarter of 2009, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Quarterly Survey of Commercial/Multifamily Mortgage Bankers Originations.

ATLANTA, GA - May 17, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- In an effort to prevent countless mortgage loan originators from losing their jobs, State Sen. Donzella James (D-College Park) will host a press conference on Tuesday, May 18 to announce her efforts to secure an extension of the certification deadline that is threatening to put Georgians out of work. In January, loan originators were given only two months to comply with new federal certification requirements, and James is encouraging the Georgia Department of Banking and Finance to grant an extension until the end of this year.

May 17, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Quicken Loans, the nation’s fourth largest retail lender, today announced the creation of Quicken Loans Mortgage Services (QLMS), a new division servicing the home financing needs of community banks and credit unions across the country