Secondary Market

Sperlonga Data and Analytics welcomes Brent Stokes as its choice for the company├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ós newly created position of senior vice president. Stokes brings veteran experience earned over a 26-year career in the mortgage industry to his new role, which encompasses Sperlonga├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ós homeowners association-oriented programs for lenders, investors, servicers, and other stakeholders.

The FDIC went after 34 banks for violations of federal law and agency requirements over July, slapping nearly 20 with civil fines, notifying some to correct recent decisions, and barring directors with two institutions to cease their involvement in executive decisions over allegations of personal and fiduciary misconduct. The majority of institutions felt the sting of civil money fines for various reasons. Also, no banks failed over the weekend, leading an FDIC spokesperson to conclude that the trend will continue over 2011.

Another week rolled by with more instances of mortgage fraud, as reported by several news outlets from around the country. Defendants alternately received indictments, pled guilty, and submitted to their sentences from courts as a result of allegations and convictions stemming from mortgage fraud conspiracy, wire fraud, and money-laundering activities. The alleged activities resulted in millions of dollars in fraudulently obtained money from lenders.

Big lenders are set to unload up to $5 billion in commercial mortgage bonds, with planned securities offerings scheduled in September and October. Participating financial institutions include Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Citigroup Inc., Bank of America Corp., Morgan Stanley, Wells Fargo & Co., Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc, and JPMorgan Chase & Co. The upcoming bond sales are largely attributed to the effects of struggling U.S. employment numbers, the European debt crisis, and the resistance against debt.

Another acquisition for PSM Holdings, Inc. is in the works, with the company├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ós announcement that it has established a letter of intent to purchase Iowa Mortgage Professionals, Inc. This is the third such move by PSMH.

As Hurricane Irene churned toward New England Thursday, public officials reacted by taking fast-acting measures to preserve lives and property, with President Barack Obama signing a declaration of emergency to free up federal assistance for North Carolina. With states as farther north as Massachusetts and New York bracing for whiplash from the storm, MReport speaks with real estate experts to forecast problems for sales, prices, and construction as a natural disaster looms.

Delivering highly anticipated remarks in Wyoming Thursday, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke promised no new stimulus measures, opting instead to offer an optimistic view of fundamental strength of the economy, coupled with a blistering critique of fiscal management by policymakers and an overview of the housing sector. In response to his speech, Treasury bonds rose, forcing a downward shift in yields and likely mortgage rates for next week, following continuing fiscal distress.

The Mortgage Bankers Association came out Thursday with a list that ranks commercial and multifamily mortgage servicers on the basis of their loan size, financial balance, and amount lent to borrowers midyear 2011. Wells Fargo achieved the number-one spot for both master servicing and commercial mortgage-backed securities. According to a statement, the MBA said that Wells Fargo, PNC Mortgage Real Estate, and Bank of America topped the master and primary servicing list for commercial and multifamily CMBS loans.

On Wednesday the New York Times broke a story suggesting that Obama administration officials are floating proposals to inject the ailing housing industry with needed relief, encourage the markets, and potentially energize the broader economy. If it passed with recommendations from a Columbia Business School proposal, the refinance plan could potentially infuse the economy with $118 billion in savings and add to historic highs for mortgage applications.

Home prices for the second quarter dropped 0.6 percent beneath figures reported during the first quarter this year, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency, which released a price index for seasonally adjusted home purchases Thursday. Quarterly declines in prices amounted to 5.9 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis. Seasonally adjusted prices plunged by 5.9 percent over the past year, according to the FHFA, with a quarterly decline occurring despite an uptick in seasonally adjusted house prices month-over-month.