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HSBC Forms New Legal Panel for Borrowers

In international news, HSBC has announced the formation of a company panel devoted to extending legal aid to its mortgage borrowers. The panel, which will be made up of solicitors and licensed conveyancers, will target the provision of required legal services for those purchasing a home mortgage via HSBC.

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Duke: Tight Credit May Be to Blame for Slow Recovery

Still-tight credit supply is at fault for anemic demand in the housing market, preventing a full-fledged recovery from exerting itself, according to one governor on the Federal Reserve Board. Delivering a presentation before trade groups in Virginia earlier Friday, Fed governor Elizabeth Duke faulted underwriting and lending standards, among other market forces, for delaying financial support for homeowners. She said tight credit conditions persist even when the GSEs and FHA offer lenders a number of opportunities to shield themselves from additional risk.

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New CFPB Director Promotes Deputy Directors

Not two days after his recess appointment, newly minted Consumer Financial Protection Bureau director Richard Cordray named de facto leader Raj Date his second-in-command. Date has led the CFPB since it went live in July, serving as day-to-day operations chief and testifying before Congress on its behalf. With degrees from the University of California and Harvard Law, he earned marks from the financial services industry with past roles at Capital One and Deutsche Bank. Cordray also made a string of other appointments at the bureau.

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Obama Praises, Meets With Cordray, CFPB Staff

President Barack Obama stopped by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau earlier Friday to welcome the staff and new director Richard Cordray. The chief executive sent shockwaves around the mortgage servicing and lending industries Wednesday by making the controversial decision to recess appoint Cordray as CFPB director. The move bypassed lawmakers in the Senate, namely 44 Republicans that vowed earlier this year to block any nominee for the bureau, no matter the party affiliation.

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Economy Picks Up Steam With 200K Jobs in December

The U.S. economy soldiered ahead by adding 200,000 jobs over December, lowering the unemployment rate to 8.5 percent as more employers picked up seasonal staff members for the holidays. The Labor Department reported Friday that total private-sector employment reached 212,000 last month, alongside fewer jobs for local and state governments, marginal declines in real estate services, and a notable pickup in residential construction around the country. Real estate, rental and leasing services lost jobs by 1.3 percent on average in December.

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Only 5% of Americans Want to Refinance in 2012: Poll

More Americans still feel uneasy about their household finances, leaving only 5 percent interested in refinancing their mortgage, according to a recent Harris Poll. Polling 2,237 adults across the country in mid-December, the research firm found respondents overwhelmingly despondent about the fiscal state of the nation. When it came to housing issues, the poll found Americans about as interested in home improvements and equity lines of credit as they were in refinancing their mortgages.

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With Cordray Director, CFPB Steps Up Nonbank Supervision

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau made clear Thursday that it will exercise its full authority to supervise a host of nonbank financial entities, with mortgage originators, brokers, servicers, and others in plain view. The bureau, newly empowered by Richard Cordray├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ós recess appointment Wednesday, offered up a video in which the new director addressed a virtual audience Thursday. The bureau released an 800-plus-page manual for nonbank examiners detailing their examination procedures, which focus on an entity├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ós volume of business, services, and products.

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Record-Low Mortgage Rates Ring In New Year

Uncertainty in the markets helped ring in the New Year with record lows for mortgage rates, as concerns over debt crises and job growth lingered for wary investors. Finance Web site Bankrate.com and mortgage company Freddie Mac released their findings for mortgage rates Thursday in two separate weekly surveys. Bankrate.com reported interest rates for the 30-year loan hitting a record 4.18 percent this week, down from 4.21 percent last week. Freddie likewise found rates for the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage sliding from 3.95 percent last week to 3.91 percent this week.

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