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The National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) is suing the global investment firm UBS Securities for allegedly falsely representing the level of risk associated with mortgage-backed securities the firm sold to two federal credit unions. According to NCUA officials, the defaults and losses that resulted directly contributed to the collapse of both credit unions. The suit, filed in a federal district court in Kansas, alleges 10 counts of securities laws violations by UBS at both the federal and state level.

Lawmakers introduced a new bill on Monday with plans to once more revamp the Home Affordable Refinance Program for current borrowers with eligible loans with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Sens. Barbara Boxer and Robert Menendez, among others, drafted the Responsible Homeowner Refinancing Act to increase lender competition, open up refinance opportunities to all current borrowers with government-backed mortgages, and strike through appraisal costs and upfront fees on home loans. If the bill passes the House, lenders will begin to compete more often with other lenders.

The FDIC announced Friday the closure of First Commercial Bank in Bloomington, Minnesota. The bank was closed by the Minnesota Department of Commerce, which appointed the FDIC as receiver. The FDIC announced that it entered into a purchase and assumption agreement with Republic Bank & Trust Company in Louisville, Kentucky, to assume all of the deposits of First Commercial Bank. The sole branch of First Commercial Bank reopened Monday as a branch of Republic Bank & Trust Company. Republic Bank agreed to assume of all of the bank's deposits and assets.

American consumers remain cautiously optimistic of housing as home prices rise, Fannie Mae reported Monday. According to the GSE's August 2012 National Housing Survey, consumers maintain a cautious but improving view of homeownership and the housing market. The average home price change expectation is 1.6 percent, mostly consistent with July's results and down from a June high of 2.0 percent. Meanwhile, 11 percent of those surveyed say home prices will go down in the next year.

Home prices ticked up by 0.9 percent year-over-year, according to Lender Processing Services. The Florida-based analytics and technology provider revealed that prices also rose by 0.7 percent month-over-month. Home values climbed by $203,000 on average, reflecting a 0.7-percent uptick from $202,000 last year. By state, California saw home prices ratchet up by 0.7 percent, with Texas dipping by 0.1 percent. Florida, New York, and New Jersey all saw increases by 1.3 percent, 1.7 percent, and 1.2 percent, respectively.

Multifamily housing continues to improve ├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔé¼┼ô at least by some appearances. The National Association of Home Builders recently registered 54 on an index that measures multifamily production. On a scale of zero to 100, the trade group found the index doing well for the eighth straight quarter, marking a high not seen in seven years. The Multifamily Production Index noted the rise from 51 for an index that tallies up homebuilder and developer sentiment about the state of the apartment and condo market.

The nation's unemployment rate fell to 8.1 percent in August ├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔé¼┼ô the lowest level since April but the economy added just 96,000 jobs, the Labor Department reported Friday. According to Labor, 581,000 people left the labor force in August leading to the drop in the unemployment rate which nonetheless remained above the election-critical 8.0 percent. At the same time, July's job gains ├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔé¼┼ô originally reported at 163,000 ├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔé¼┼ô were reduced to 141,000 while June's job numbers dropped to 45,000 from 87,000.

Taking the stage on Thursday, speakers at the ninth annual Five Star Conference, currently underway at the Hilton Anatole in Dallas, tackled the issue most politicians evade: When and where should government intervene in the housing market? Not often, according to speakers like Jack Konyk, executive director of government affairs with Weiner Brodsky Sidman Kider, and Edward Kramer, EVP of regulatory affairs with Wolters Kluwer Financial Services. The Dodd-Frank Act took center-stage during the debate, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau along with it.

Online lending continues to boom, and at least one mortgage-shopping website is reporting that the housing market is heating up, based on site statistics. Citing strong findings from August, MortgageMarvel.com revealed that the number of applications for purchases and refinances submitted during the month quadrupled on a year-over-year basis.

After some community banks expressed concerns that FDIC examinations ├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├àÔÇ£were being conducted without clear standards or consistent application of agency policies and procedures, which could discourage business growth and responsible lending,├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├é┬Ø the FDIC conducted a report to review its examination process. Major findings of the recently-released report include that timelines for report completion often lengthens as institution ratings worsen, and these challenges are rare and even more rarely sustained.