Nationstar Mortgage Holdings, Inc., announced the acquisition of Equifax Settlement Services Holding, LLC.

As more markets across the country improved, all 50 states--plus the District of Columbia--were able to receive representation in February's Improving Markets Index (IMI) released by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and First American. Last year during this time, just 36 states were represented.

Realtors in December expected prices to rise by about 3.5 percent over the next year, while consumer estimates were more modest at 2.5 percent for the same time period, Capital Economics noted in its monthly housing report. The estimates show a growing optimism among those groups. But, with the low supply of inventory, Capital Economics anticipates much bigger gains.

Fannie Mae maintained its position as the largest source for multifamily financing in 2012 after providing $33.8 billion to the sector.

A taxpayer watchdog agency accused Treasury of lacking a concrete plan to help Ally pay back taxpayers and move toward financial stability. Although Treasury made three investments into Ally, totaling $17.2 billion, the report says Treasury never required the company to "spell out a plan" to address issues surrounding Residential Capital, Ally's mortgage arm that caused most of the company's losses.

As the multifamily sector continues to flourish, Freddie Mac also announced it hit record volume for its multifamily business in 2012.

A new report from the Office of the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (SIGTARP) suggests the Treasury Department has failed once again to curb what SIGTARP calls "excessive" executive pay at AIG, General Motors, and Ally Financial--three companies bailed out with taxpayer funds. After investigating pay in 2012, SIGTARP reported Treasury approved pay packages worth $5 million or more for 23 percent of the top employees at AIG, GM, and Ally.

President Obama nominated Mary Jo White to serve as chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), according to reports. Obama also renominated Richard Cordray as the director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).

On behalf of the FDIC, First Financial Network, Inc. (FFN) is selling $85 million in loans from the failed NOVA Bank based in Berwyn, Pennsylvania.

Genworth Financial, Inc., announced a new chief risk officer (CRO) for its Genworth U.S. Mortgage Insurance (USMI) unit. Michael Derstine was selected for the position as CRO.