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Origination

Georgia Bank Failure Raises 2012 Tally to 12

The bank failure tally for 2012 rose Friday as state regulators shuttered a bank in Georgia, emboldening the state's reputation as a graveyard for community banks in recent years. The Georgia Department of Banking and Finance turned off the lights for Doraville-based Global Commerce Bank, which went under with about $143.7 million in total assets and $116.8 million in total deposits. Neighboring Metro City Bank entered into a purchase-and-assumption transaction with the FDIC, scooping up $79 million in assets and leaving the rest to the agency for disposition.

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Last Year’s Housing Doldrums Dampen Obama Scorecard

A troubled year for housing surfaced in a February housing scorecard from the Obama administration Friday, underscoring a still-unsteady pace for home prices, mortgage origination volume, and housing supply. Jointly released by HUD and the Treasury Department, the scorecard reflects an industry still in transition from crisis to recovery. The scorecard cited a National Association of Realtors Home Affordability Index, showing that it moved from 179.1 February last year to 194.9 this year, not far from the level seen in January.

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Moody’s Slashes Servicer Rating for Wells Fargo

Moody├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ós Investor Service slashed credit ratings for Wells Fargo Home Mortgage Thursday over concerns about deterioration in the quality of prime and subprime loans. The ratings agency downgraded the servicer from SQ1 to SQ2+. When reviewing residential mortgage servicers, Moody├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ós rates SQ1 as strong and SQ5 as weak, with modifiers like pluses and minuses signifying their relative strength and weakness in each category. Moody├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ós cited the $25-billion settlement as one reason why, saying that added public pressure over negotiations lengthened foreclosure timelines.

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Hamilton Financial Index Shows Strength Improving

Hamilton Place Strategies has released findings from its analytics initiative, the Hamilton Financial Index. The company releases its examination of the state of the U.S. financial services industry on a semi-annual basis, and Hamilton conducts the study on behalf of the Partnership for a Secure Financial Future.

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Still Falling, Mortgage Rates Read From the Same Script

This week mortgage rates played by the same script seen for the last few months, furthering a season for all-time high affordability while fears for Europe drove investors across the Atlantic. Finance Web site Bankrate.com, mortgage giant Freddie Mac, and real estate Web site Zillow.com delivered a dearth for rates across the board. Bankrate.com likewise offered declines for loans across the board. For its part, Greece remains in the clutch of a debt crisis that drew $172 billion in bailout funds from eurozone finance ministers last week.

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Business Fell to $4.9B for Mortgage Insurers in January

Private mortgage insurance companies backed home loans to the tune of $4.9 billion in January, a decline from $6.9 billion last year, as the industry continues to reel from sapped business and credit downgrades. Mortgage Insurance Companies of America found $399 billion in insurance-in-force for member companies Genworth Mortgage Guaranty Insurance Corp., Radian Mortgage Insurance Co., and Republic Mortgage Insurance Co. The trade group said that some 21,904 borrowers made a purchase or loan refinance.

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Housing Looms Large, As Ever, For Bernanke, Lawmakers

A hearing held by House lawmakers Wednesday with Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke recast housing and the Dodd-Frank Act as issues critical to the economic recovery. The central banker said that 30 percent of home sales recently consisted of foreclosures and properties in distress, reflecting ongoing trouble for a market underpinned by high home vacancy rates and downward pressure for home prices. The underwriting process, down payments, and pending regulations also took center-stage during the discussion, with House members spotlighting recent servicer consent orders.

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Beige Book Sees Continuing Economic Improvement

Fed

Overall economic activity continued to increase at a modest to moderate pace in January and early February, the Federal Reserve said Wednesday in the Beige Book. The report ├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔé¼┼ô an anecdotal review of conditions in each of the 12 Federal Reserve districts ├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔé¼┼ô showed economic improvement varying across the country. Residential real estate activity increased modestly in most parts of the country, while home prices declined or held steady in many areas. Reports on banking conditions were generally positive across the country. Demand for residential mortgage loans increased in New York and Richmond.

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PVTB Launches New Unit, Appoints New Leader

In Illinois, PrivateBancorp, Inc., has named a new president of personal client services. The financial institution recently appointed Brant Aherns to the leadership role, which marks the launch of a new line of business for PVTB.

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