Mortgage Servicers Are Hugely Conflicted - Larry Doyle - Information is everything. Those who control the information have immense power. The allegiances of those in control of the info obviously have an enormous impact on how the information is processed and dispensed. The potential for conflicts of interest are significant. Standard business fare, correct? Have these conflicts played out on Wall Street? All too often. How so?  I have repeatedly highlighted the conflicts within our financial regulatory structure. We also know that the credit rating agencies have been enormously conflicted. Anywhere else? Let’s enter the world of mortgage servicing, …... - Sense on Cents

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Gretchen Morgenson on mortgage security litigation - Seeing vs. Doing - “WHAT did they know, and when did they know it?” Those are questions investigators invariably ask when trying to determine who’s responsible for an offense or a misdeed. ... As investigators delve deeper into the mortgage mess, they are finding in too many cases that Wall Street firms did nothing when they learned about problem loans or improprieties in lending. ... - NY Times 

peak in strategic defaults? - Seeking to Close Off an Exit - Bob Tedeschi - ... But a new report suggests that these “strategic defaults,” as the practice is known in the industry, may finally be peaking after a four-year climb. And new penalties levied on strategic defaulters by Fannie Mae could further curb the practice.  The report was released in late June by Experian ... - NY Times 

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Freddie Mac lowers portfolio, delinquencies slip - By Lynn Adler - Reuters

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A cash-in refinance can cut mortgage costs - Why cash-in refinances are up, and why others hold on to their cash - By Amy Hoak - - Cash-out refinancing gained popularity when home values were rising fast, and homeowners wanted to tap their home equity to put money in their wallet. Today, some borrowers are doing the reverse, bringing cash to the closing table when they refinance their home loan.- MarketWatch 

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Geithner: U.S. Should Retain a Mortgage Backstop - By NICK TIMIRAOS and DAMIAN PALETTA -  Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said Sunday the government should retain "some type" of federal guarantee to ensure that Americans can easily finance home loans, in what could be the latest salvo between the Obama administration and Republicans over the future role of the public sector in the housing market.  The statement cuts to the heart of one of the most vexing policy questions in Washington: whWat to do with the costly government-run mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. - WSJ Economy

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Wells, Bank of America, and MetLife Make Up 52% of Reverse Mortgage Volume - The Street is reporting that Wells Fargo, Bank of America, and MetLife account for 52% of the reverse mortgage volume in the industry.  According to Reverse Market Insight, the top 10 lenders make up 89% of the market. - Reverse Mortgage Daily

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Anecdotal Evidence That Banks Are Hiding Depressed High End Real Estate - by Reggie Middleton - Without the FTB tax credit, the housing market is receiving artificial demand and price support from the FHA loan guarantees and banks sitting on mortgages of homes once valued at $300,000.  Banks in areas that were severely damaged by the downturn in domestic real estate (Cook County, Illinois, Miami-Dade County, Florida, Orange County, California) have significant inventories of homes worth more than $300,000 that they will not put on the market, even after foreclosures lasting more than 2 years. - has charts - Zero Hedge

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Another Guaranteed Box Full of Crap - via FDIC - by Kid Dynamite - ...  To summarize - the FDIC has been taking over the crappy assets of tons of failed banks.  There is a problem - they are running out of money (or ran out, long ago) with which to do this.   Thus, they need to sell the assets they've taken over to raise more funds to take over more failing banks.  Problem: the assets aren't worth much - 10c-50c on the dollar, according to Barrons.  Solution?  Mark that box full of crap GUARANTEED!  - Kid Dynamite's World

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A New Taxpayer Rip-Off: Mortgage Backed Securities From the FDIC - John Lounsbury - has details of true cost. - Seeking Alpha