must read (about weakness of MERS) Homeowners’ Rebellion: Could 62 Million Homes Be Foreclosure-Proof? - Ellen Brown - ... The more recent cases, however, are looking at something more serious. If MERS is not the title holder of properties held in its name, the chain of title has been broken, and no one may have standing to sue. In MERS v. Nebraska Department of Banking and Finance, MERS insisted that it had no actionable interest in title, and the court agreed. ... - Seeking Alpha

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(from NY FED)  TBA Trading and Liquidity in the Agency MBS Market - Authors: James Vickery and Joshua Wright - Most mortgages in the United States are securitized through the agency mortgage-backed-securities (MBS) market. These securities are generally traded on a “to-be-announced,” or TBA, basis. This trading convention significantly improves agency MBS liquidity, leading to lower borrowing costs for households. Evaluation of potential reforms to the U.S. housing finance system should take into account the effects of those reforms on the operation of the TBA market. - hattip Paul C - 37 page paper at FRBNY

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Large US Bank Ratings Vulnerable to GSE Mortgage Loan Repurchases - The credit ratings of banks with large mortgage origination businesses could come under threat if Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac succeed in forcing them to increase the amount of bad loans they repurchase.  Fitch Ratings is undertaking a review to assess whether investors such as the GSEs have expanded their interpretation of what constitutes a mortgage that would be eligible to be repurchased by the originating bank under existing representation and warranty provisions. - Research Recap

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(TBW) Court Appoints Lawyer to Represent Farkas - By Patrick Fitzgerald - hattip Dennis - ... “I will be counsel unless he comes up with funds from one source or another to retain counsel,” said Cummings, a white-collar defense attorney based in Alexandria, Va., who also once represented “American Taliban” John Walker Lindh. ... - WSJ Blogs
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Refinancing soars, but homes aren't selling - Sales will suffer as long as high unemployment persists, experts say. - Posted by Kim Peterson - MSN Money
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The Future Of Fannie And Freddie Will Be Thousands Of Fannie And Freddies - Joe Weisenthal- ... As such, we believe what James Pethokoukis is reporting regarding the likely policy proposal that the White House will put forward: ... has 4 points -  Clusterstock at Business Insider 

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Fitch: Big Four Banks Face $180bn in Buybacks from Fannie and Freddie - by CHRISTINE RICCIARDI - HousingWire
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Mortgage Rates for 30-Year Fixed U.S. Loans Drop to Record, Freddie Says - By Prashant Gopal - U.S. mortgage rates set a record low for the ninth straight week, making it cheaper to borrow and more attractive to refinance homes.  The average rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage dropped to 4.42 percent in the week ended today from 4.44 percent, Freddie Mac said in a statement - Bloomberg

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(Quicken Loans revitalizes downtown Detroit)  QUICKEN LOANS AND SISTER COMPANIES MOVE TO DOWNTOWN DETROIT - PR-USA.NET
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(HAMP) BofA's government mortgage modifications slow in July - Bank of America Corp said on Wednesday that the number of homeowners entering the U.S. government's primary program to forestall foreclosures was slowing under tighter guidelines recently implemented by the U.S. Treasury. - Reuters

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The New Breed of Refis - By Dunstan Prial - One proposal being floated around Washington, D.C., has the Obama administration offering blanket, no-questions-asked refinancing to millions of homeowners struggling to pay their mortgages and avoid foreclosure.  Although it's unlikely to happen, supporters view such a program as a potentially potent method of stimulus in that the savings generated by all those lower monthly mortgage payments would pump, according to their estimates, $50 billion to $60 billion of cash into the economy.  But would it? - FoxBusiness
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FHA Report: HECM Program Performing Better Than Previously Reported - Mortgages insured by the Federal Housing Administration have performed better than expected during the fiscal year, though the improvements could be overturned if home prices sink, according to a report the agency submitted to Congress.  According to the Washington Post, ...  concluded that FHA loans are holding up better than the audit had predicted on many fronts, in part because the agency has attracted more creditworthy borrowers and rooted out fraudulent lenders. ... - Reverse Mortgage Daily