Mortgage News

  7 Banks Seized
The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, Division of Banking seized five small financial institutions. Another Illinois institution was closed by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. The Texas Banking Commissioner closed down a Dallas bank. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, which announced the failures, was named receiver of all the failed banks.

Millions Released for Displaced CA Mortgage Workers
In February 2008, the U.S. Department of Labor announced a $5.6 million grant for the California Employment Development Department. The funds were targeted for career counseling, skills training and other employment and training assistance. The second of two installments has been released, according to a new announcement.

Big 10-Year Improvement
Freddie Mac reported in its Primary Mortgage Market Survey for the week ended July 2 that the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage dropped 0.10 percent from the prior week. A benchmark for fixed-mortgage rates is the yield on the 10-year Treasury bond. The 10-year saw its yield decline around 17 basis points from a week earlier.

GMAC Restructured, Renamed
GMAC LLC converted from a limited liability company to a corporation, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. As part of the transition, the firm was renamed GMAC Inc. "The conversion will facilitate implementation of the registration rights that GMAC has provided to its common and certain of its preferred shareholders," the filing said.

Mass. Crackdown on Mortgage Licensees
A report from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Division of Banks indicated 7,747 loan originator licenses were received since the state began requiring the licenses. But tougher requirements by the state led nearly 2,000 of the applicants to either give up or be denied. The state has issued 377 formal and informal enforcement actions against licensed mortgage since 2006.