Government

The bank, which is Minnesota's first to close in 2014, was shuttered on Friday by the Minnesota Department of Commerce, which appointed FDIC as receiver. In a statement, the agency cited lack of capital, continuing operating losses, and a large volume of problem assets as reasons for the forced closing.

Ocwen's year-long difficulties with New York's Department of Financial Services (DFS) has ended with a $150 million settlement and the departure of its executive chairman, the company announced Monday.

The letter, co-authored by Senators Joe Manchin (D-West Virginia) and Mark Kirk (R-Illinois), states that "(t)he proposed rule affects long-standing membership rules for the Federal Home Loan Bank system and will negatively affect new and current members in the system." Twenty-five other senators signed the letter.

In a policy statement released following the last 2014 meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), the central bank reaffirmed its view that the economy is expanding at a "moderate pace," pointing to continued improvements in the labor market tempered by still-high numbers of unemployed and underemployed Americans and slower growth in the housing sector.

According to the OCC survey, 92 percent of surveyed banks originated residential real estate loans in 2014, and a full 20 percent reported tightening their standards regarding who can attain these loans. Seventy percent reported no changes in their standards, leaving a comparatively slight 10 percent of institutions claiming they eased their standards for residential mortgages.

The internal review group for the New York-based megabank asserted in the third Chase Consumer Relief Update, compiled by monitor Joseph A. Smith Jr., that Chase has earned $2.2 billion in consumer relief credit from the period of October 1, 2013, to September 30, 2014.

In an update on his continued oversight of the landmark agreement, Joseph Smith Jr. revealed doubts about the internal review group Ocwen is using to monitor the company's compliance with settlement terms. Smith said his team launched an investigation in May after hearing from an employee about "serious deficiencies in Ocwen's internal review group process."

According to a report released Tuesday from the Commerce Department, homebuilders began construction on new houses in November at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.03 million, down 1.6 percent month-over-month and 7 percent year-over-year. Despite the retreat in housing starts, there were a few pieces of good news in Tuesday's report.

U.S. Representative Ed Royce (R-California), a senior member of the House Financial Services Committee, has issued a statement calling the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA)'s announcement that the Agency will divert GSE money to the Housing Trust Fund and Capital Magnet Fund "outrageous."

In a recent letter addressed to Treasury Secretary Jack Lew and Mel Watt, director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), the Community Mortgage Lenders of America (CMLA) urged the government to "take immediate action to cure the under-capitalization" of the GSEs by re-amending the payment terms established when they were forced to take a bailout after the crash.