A look at the stories on HousingWire’s weekend desk…with more coverage to come on bigger issues:

Sources in Dubai tell HousingWire that the central bank in Abu Dhabi is authorizing a $10bn bailout package for the ailing Emirate. The $4bn or so of Islamic law or Shariah-compliant sukuk bonds due for payment today, issued by real estate firm Nakheel, will be met under the program.

Dubai's financial troubles recently came to a head, even if expected, causing ripples in global real estate-linked investments. However, trading in the United Arab Emirates lifted on the news Sunday (markets in regional economies are typically closed on Friday and Saturday), according to the Wall Street Journal.

Regulators closed three banks Friday, bringing the total number of failed institutions to 133 this year. The total estimated cost to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) deposit insurance fund is $252.1m.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) closed Miami-based Republic Federal Bank, National Association. The FDIC, as receiver, entered into a purchase and assumption agreement with Boca Raton, Fla.-based 1st United Bank, which will pay a 1.2% premium to assume all of the failed bank’s $352.7m in deposits and reopened the four Republic Federal Bank branches as 1st United Bank locations. 1st United Bank will assume $267.1m of $433m of the failed bank’s assets. The cost to the FDIC fund is projected to be $122.6m.

The Office of the State Bank Commissioner of Kansas closed Overland Park, Kan.-based SolutionsBank. The FDIC entered into a purchase and assumption agreement with Fayetteville, Ark.-based Arvest Bank. The six SolutionsBank locations reopened as Arvest Bank branches. Arvest did not pay a premium to assume the $421.3m deposits and “essentially all” of the failed bank’s $511.1m in assets. The cost to the FDIC insurance fund is projected to be $122.1m.

The OCC also closed Mesa, Ariz.-based Valley Capital Bank, National Association. The FDIC entered into a purchase and assumption agreement with Clayton, Mo.-based Enterprise Bank & Trust. The one Valley Capital Bank branch reopened as an Enterprise Bank & Trust branch. Enterprise Bank paid the FDIC a 2% premium for the right to assume $41.3m in deposits of Valley Capital Bank. It also assumed “essentially all” of the failed bank’s assets. The cost to the FDIC fund is projected to be $7.4m.

The commercial mortgage-backed securitization (CMBS) rally that started a week ago Friday continued through last week, according to the Barclays Capital “CMBS Strategy Weekly” report.

Barclays analysts noted improvement in recent vintage last cash flow dupers and second-pay bonds. “Many recent vintage A2s are now in premium dollar price territory, and offer some degree of extension upside potential in sharp contrast to earlier in the year,” the analysts wrote, adding a new CMBS offering last week experienced strong demand.

The report also said net commercial real estate (CRE) mortgage debt contracted at an accelerated pace in Q309. The sector contracted $28bn in the quarter, more than doubled the $12bn contraction in Q209.

“It is the largest quarterly contraction over the history of the data series, dating back to the 1950s,” the report said. “By percentage terms, it is only the eighth-largest decline, surpassed by several quarters during the deleveraging episode in the early 1990s.”

The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) reached a settlement agreement with Baltimore-based Equitable Trust Mortgage Corp. (ETM).

FHA suspended ETM’s Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)/FHA approval because it claimed the lender improperly overcharged 37 borrowers for broker and loan origination fees beyond HUD limits. ETM settled without admitting fault or liability and paid HUD a $277,500 civil money penalty. FHA terminated the suspension. ETM will also refund the overcharged fees to the 37 customers in amounts ranging from $500 to $9,135. The total amount repaid to borrowers will be $147,589.81, FHA said.

“The settlement agreement is a victory for both HUD and the borrowers who were affected by ETM's actions,” said FHA commissioner David Stevens in a statement. “The settlement agreement imposes a significant penalty on ETM for violating HUD requirements, but also provides the wronged borrowers relief in these tough economic times.”

The Community Mortgage Banking Project (CMBP) said financial reform legislation passed by the House of Representatives Friday creates an uneven playing field between state and federally chartered institutions and could threaten the availability of billions of dollars for home loans.

The group said the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act creates a system where federally chartered lender can ignore state regulations.

“One of the basic tenets of any major reform should be to ensure that all lenders play by the same set of rules,” CMBP managing director Glen Corso said in a statement. “Charter-based preemption puts consumers in the unfortunate position of having to figure out what license their financial institutions holds to know what protections they are being afforded.”

The group also criticized risk retention policies in the legislation that it said could have unintended benefits of forcing small institutions out of business because they won’t be able to compete with larger institutions.

“Risk retention provisions are a reasonable approach for exotic mortgages that carry higher risks of default,” Corso said. “That is not the case, however, for ‘plain vanilla’ ordinary mortgage such as the ones offered by community-based mortgage banking companies. Congress needs to provide clear direction to regulators to exempt low risk mortgages from the retention requirements to assure consumers a wide variety of lender choices when they look for a mortgage.”

The CMBP is a recently formed trade group for small community-based lenders.

The Nevada Supreme Court swore in nearly 75 new mediators to the Nevada Foreclosure Mediation Program, according to an Associated Press report.

The mediators are part of a group of 170 attorneys, hearing officers and senior judges help homeowners and lenders create feasible workout plans in foreclosure cases.

Chief Justice James Hardesty swore in 68 mediators in a videoconference Friday from Supreme Court courtrooms in Carson City and Las Vegas, and the remaining seven will be sworn in individually.

Nearly 3,300 homeowners are seeking third-party review to try to keep their homes. So far, approximately 500 cases have been heard and another 1,000 are scheduled.

Write to Austin Kilgore.