A look at stories across HousingWire's weekend desk, with more coverage to come on bigger issues:
Analysts raised another issue with an upcoming mass refinance plan over the weekend: payment histories.
The Home Affordable Refinance Program requires borrowers to have a clean pay history over the year prior to entering the program. According to JPMorgan Chase (JPM: 37.245 -0.65%) analysts, this could be a problem for the roughly one-third of these borrowers who had a least one delinquency in the past 12 months.
The Obama administration will announce plans to refinance more underwater borrowers in the coming weeks, which may include tweaks to HARP such as eliminating loan-level price adjustments, negative equity caps and a waiver for representation and warranty risk, though this seems unlikely.
There has been no word on whether the government-sponsored enterprises would look past payment history to help more borrowers with the program under the new plan.
House Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) sent a letter Friday to members of the super committee formed in August to find major cuts into the federal debt. The proposal provides more than $375 billion in savings over 10 years, Issa said.
His plan would change pension formulas for retirees of the government and increase contributions to the Federal Employee Retirement System by 6.2%.
Issa would also reduce the federal workforce by 10% through attrition — hiring one new worker for every three government jobs cut. He would also place a pay freeze for these employees through 2015.
Beginning Feb. 1, any wholly owned subsidiary of a mortgage lender or servicer that is a non-depository or a non-regulated institution must obtain separate approval from Freddie Mac.
The approval would allow the firm to do business with the government-sponsored enterprise, but it would be a separate form and process than regulated or depository institutions, according to a rule released over the weekend.
The Occupy Wall Street movement surged into Times Square over the weekend, bringing thousands of demonstrators with it.
At 2 p.m. on Saturday, what was described as a "large group" of protesters entered a Citigroup (C: 30.48 +0.33%) branch, forcing staff to call the police.
"They were very disruptive and refused to leave after being repeatedly asked," Citi said in a statement. "The police asked the branch staff to close the branch until the protesters could be removed. Only one person asked to close an account and was accommodated."
The Senate Banking Committee will hold a hearing Tuesday titled, "Housing Finance Reform: Continuation of the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage."
With the Obama administration set to move forward with a plan in the coming weeks, expanding on its white paper in February, some question the future of the industry staple 30-year FRM.
Scheduled to testify are Janis Bowdler, senior policy analyst for the National Council of La Raza; Susan Woodward, president of Sand Hill Economics; and Anthony Sanders, professor of finance at George Mason University.
While Woodward has long defended the 30-year traditional mortgage, Sanders has pointed out after the crisis that the FRM is "a one-sided design," allowing prepaying borrowers to benefit while investors and taxpayers — as long as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac remain in conservatorship, bearing the cost.
Four banks closed over the weekend, bringing the total number for the year to 80. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. expects the closings to cost its deposit insurance fund a total $418.5 million.
The Georgia Department of Banking and Finance closed Piedmont Community Bank. State Bank and Trust Company will assume all $181.4 million in deposits and purchase essentially all $201.7 million in assets. The closing is expected to cost the DIF $163.2 million.
The North Carolina Office of Commissioner of Banks closed Blue Ridge Savings in Asheville, N.C. Bank of North Carolina will assume all $158.7 million in deposits and agreed to purchase essentially all $161 million in assets. The FDIC expects the closing to cost $143.2 million.
The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation closed Country Bank in Aledo, Ill. Blackhawk Bank & Trust will assume all $167.5 million in deposits and agreed to purchase $113.3 million of the $190.6 million in failed bank assets. The FDIC will retain the rest for later sales. The closing is expected to cost the DIF $66.3 million.
The New Jersey Department of Banking closed First State Bank in Cranford, N.J. Northfield Bank will assume all $201.2 million in deposits and agreed to purchase essentially all $204.4 million in assets. The closing is estimated to cost $45.8 million.
Write to Jon Prior.
Follow him on Twitter @JonAPrior.
