Government

The Federal Housing Administration announced revisions to rules surrounding post-payment interest charges and adjustable rate notifications. "Together, these new rules are responsive to the regulations implementing the Truth-in-Lending Act (Regulation Z) as revised last year by the CFPB," the agency said in a release.

Goldman Sachs has agreed to pay $3.15 billion to settle a lawsuit filed by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) over faulty RMBS. Under the terms of the settlement, Goldman Sachs will pay $2.15 billion to Freddie Mac and about $1 billion to Fannie Mae to buy back the alleged faulty RMBS the two GSEs purchased between 2005 and 2007. FHFA estimates the worth of the settlement to be about $1.2 billion due to the bonds' current value.

Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen called for moderation in monetary policy in a major speech on Friday as the economy continued to show signs of a slow but steady recovery. Speaking from Jackson Hole, Wyoming, the central banker hailed a falling unemployment rate and improving payroll figures but held back from calling it significant enough process to notch up still-low interest rates.

U.S. attorneys in Los Angeles are reportedly preparing a civil lawsuit against former Countrywide Financial CEO and co-founder Angelo Mozilo for his alleged role in the subprime boom that led to a financial meltdown. Mozilo continues to be defiant, denying any culpability and saying in a recent deposition that that he had "no regrets" in the way that he managed Countrywide.

The total number of mortgage refinances in the United States experienced a slight increase in June, though activity for the quarter was down overall. The agency also reported a drop in refinances done through the government's Home Affordable Refinance Program, which accounted for an estimated 15.7 percent of refinances completed through Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) unveiled this week its list of companies selected to participate in the agency's mortgage eClosing pilot program designed to measure the benefits of electronic mortgage closings and determine best practices.

Bank of America announced Thursday morning it has agreed to pay a record $16.65 billion to resolve claims of financial fraud in the sale of toxic mortgage-backed securities during the years leading up the financial crisis.

In a bulletin issued Tuesday, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau warned mortgage servicers to pay close attention to the new "common-sense" mortgaging rules implemented by the bureau in January 2014, aimed at protecting consumers from being harmed during loan transfers.

In a rare show of bipartisanship, Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts) and David Vitter (R-Louisiana) joined four other senators and nine House members in a letter that warned against a weak proposed rule that signers said would fail to place "meaningful restrictions" on its ability to bail out financial institutions.

Following the filing of a separate suit with the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, New York-based hedge fund Pershing Square Capital Management has filed a second suit against the U.S. government over the handling of GSE profits. In its compliant, Pershing Square suggests that the GSE dividends being diverted into Treasury, which amount to billions of dollars, should be divided among the common shareholders for the GSEs.