Daily Dose

Neugebauer’s proposal would replace the CFPB director with a bipartisan, five-member commission appointed by the president for five-year terms, with no more than three from a single political party. According to the draft legislation, the CFPB would also be renamed as the “Financial Product Safety Commission” and would no longer be funded by the Federal Reserve, but by its own budget appropriation.

U.S. foreclosures soared in 2008. At that time, one in every 54 households was getting at least one filling notice and nearly 3.2 million foreclosures were filed in 2007. Loss mitigation programs were created in response to the crisis. Now, Watt believes the need for these programs will wind down. An estimated 3.2 million borrowers have completed a HARP refinance since it was introduced in 2009, including more than 95,000 in New Jersey, according to the FHFA.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac released a mortgage program allowing borrowers to put a down payment of a little as three percent, in December of last year. The program was set to target individuals with good credit, but low cash flow. This program has drawn much controversy, with some saying this kind of risky lending is what caused the financial crisis.

The mortgage industry has completed about 23.2 million non-foreclosure solutions for homebuyers since 2007. Mortgage servicers have completed over 7.3 million total permanent loan modifications in that same time period. Approximately 5.9 million of those modifications were via proprietary programs and over 1.4 million were completed under HAMP.

Residential real estate activity increased moderately in the Richmond district. Realtors in Virginia and North Carolina reported increased sales, especially for higher end homes in North Carolina. Home sales increased in the St. Louis district on a year-over-year basis. Compared with the same period in 2013, December 2014 monthly home sales were up 5 percent in Louisville, 11 percent in Little Rock, and 29 percent in St. Louis.

Citigroup has been trying to sell OneMain since 2011 as a plan the bank has implemented to sell unwanted assets and focus on wealthier clients. OneMain is a part of Citi Holdings, which was created during the financial crisis to place assets that Citigroup wanted to divest or wind down. It provides loans to buy small-ticket items and meet unexpected expenses. The company posted a loss of $2 billion in 2010, but has since been profitable, with profits rising 7 percent to $415 million in nine months. OneMain has 1,140 branches in the U.S.

Before the recession about 15 percent of Americans had a FICO score less than 600, while after the recession about 25 percent of Americans had the same low score, according to a study released in 2010 by Deutsche Bank. More recently, the Urban Institute and Encore Capital Group's Consumer Credit Research Institute found that one-third of consumers with credit files had debt in collection. That report, which examined TransUnion credit data from 2013, found 77 million Americans have debt 180 days past due, with the average person having about $5,178 in credit card, utility bill, or medical bill debt.

In his testimony, Cordray stated the CFPB is “committed to an even-handed approach to rulemaking that maintains important protections for consumers while listening to all stakeholders and making changes where appropriate."

Today, cities resemble a “new donut” pattern with a resurgence of downtown and historic centers, often driven by young adults. Young adult, ages 22 to 34, population has grown in every city in the country. This Millennial population has been shown to be interested in neighborhoods with walkability, and less interested in having a home with a big back yard or close to a good school district. Residents in the center of cities now tend to have a higher level of education than before, with new college grads moving to metropolitan areas. This influx of new residents has created a resurgence of development in cities.

Because Compare is an ad product, Google makes money every time a consumer makes a decision based on information from one of its recommendations. The more money at stake, the more money Google makes in the end. Entering the mortgage industry could mean big profit for Google based on Google trends. Trends show people are searching for information on mortgage loans more than car insurance and almost as much as credit cards.