HBA Newswatch
March 13, 2008
TIGHTER MORTGAGE OVERSIGHT URGED
JEANNINE AVERSA
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON - Stronger regulatory oversight of mortgage lenders is being recommended to avert any repetition of the credit crisis now threatening to plunge the country into recession, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said Thursday.
Paulson, in a speech, outlined suggestions of the president's working group on financial markets, which for months has been exploring ways to prevent ward off any such chilling scenarios in the future.
"The objective here is to get the balance right , regulation needs to catch up with innovation and help restore investors confidence but not go so far as to create new problems, make our markets less efficient or cut off credit to those who need it," said Paulson, who is chairman of the president's working group..
One recommendation calls for federal and state regulators to strengthen oversight of mortgage lenders and another urges state financial regulators to implement strong nationwide licensing standards for mortgage brokers, Paulson said.
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DEVELOPER CHALLENGES COUNSEL
WALLACE BOARD RETAINS SOLICITOR, DESPITE HANKIN GROUP’S OPPOSITION
By DANIELLE LYNCH, Staff Writer
WALLACE — The board of supervisors decided Thursday it will retain attorneys from the law firm Siana, Bellwoar & McAndrew to handle any future Hankin Group legal issues.
Two weeks ago, Thomas “Buck” Riley, of Riley Riper Hollin & Colagreco, the firm representing the Hankin Group, asked the supervisors to choose an alternate counsel, or conflict counsel. Riley originally made the request in a Jan. 9 letter.
This recently became a concern for the Hankin Group when the township switched its counsel firm to Siana, Bellwoar & McAndrew at the beginning of the year. Siana, Bellwoar & McAndrew had represented neighboring West Vincent during litigations with the Hankin Group until a county judge ruled that an alternate counsel needed to step in.
Because there were issues between Hankin and Siana, Bellwoar & McAndrew in West Vincent, Riley said the Hankin Group would not be subjected to this law firm again.
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FORECLOSURE 'CRISIS' IS OVERBLOWN
Sure, there are pockets of pain around the US, but it's not as if most Americans are losing their homes. More than 99% of homes aren't in foreclosure.
By Scott Burns
A recent list of year-end mortgage foreclosure rates in 100 top metropolitan areas drew a lot of attention. Released by RealtyTrac, a company that compiles data on home foreclosures, the list showed the number of foreclosure filings in each metro area, the percentage of homes being foreclosed and the percentage change from the previous year.
Though the report had some dismal news -- such as the nearly 4.9% foreclosure rate in the Stockton, Calif., area -- a close look at the data also provides some reassuring information. It tells me, for instance, that the foreclosure crisis is a regional problem, not a systemic one. It could become a systemic problem, of course, but we're a long way from that now.
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