Government

In a meeting with reporters on Wednesday, Mel Watt, former U.S. representative and chief of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) since December 2013, discussed a number of key issues facing the GSEs and the agency, touching on topics ranging from recently introduced low down payment programs to the often debated subject of principal reduction for struggling homeowners.

Bank of America was ordered to pay a $1.27 billion penalty in July 2014 as a result of its alleged role in the "Hustle" case. The bank had been fighting to overturn that verdict since, claiming that the HSSL program ended prior to its acquisition of Countrywide.

In an opinion released Monday, U.S. District Judge Rosemary Collyer said Attorney General Eric Schneiderman didn't present substantial evidence that Wells Fargo—one of five major servicers that originally entered into the deal with 49 state attorneys general—neglected its servicing obligations under the terms of the settlement.

The Department of Justice sued S&P in February 2013, alleging that the credit ratings agency "knowingly and with the intent to defraud, devised, participated in, and executed a scheme to defraud investors" in collateralized debt obligations and residential mortgage-backed securities between 2004 and 2007.

Included in the president's newest budget is $49.3 billion set aside for HUD, a $4 billion increase over last year. In a call with reporters, HUD Deputy Secretary Nani Coloretti explained that much of the budget will be used to undo some of the cuts made as the department experienced budget restraints as a result of sequestration.

The Commerce Department said Monday that construction spending rose 0.4 percent month-over-month throughout December to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $982.1 billion. November's spending rate was revised slightly upward to a seasonally adjusted $978.6 billion, still reflecting a decline from the month prior.

The proposed requirements include minimums for net worth, capital ratio, and liquidity criteria that must be met by servicers and sellers to do business with the GSEs.

In a first-look report, the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) reported that gross domestic product (GDP) expanded at an annualized rate of 2.6 percent in 2014's fourth quarter, sharply down from 5.0 percent growth in the third quarter. Economists had projected an annualized increase of 3.2 percent.

In a release, the bureau detailed a number of proposed revisions it hopes will increase options for community banks and other smaller mortgage lenders who may have been adversely impacted by last year's newly implemented rules.

According to figures released Thursday by the Census Bureau, the share of American homeowners hit 64.0 percent in Q4 2014, down from 64.4 percent in the previous quarter. Historical data shows the last time homeownership was so low was in Q4 1994, when the rate was 59.6 percent.