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HUD announced Thursday that it reached a $202 million settlement with Deutsche Bank and Mortgageit over allegations of misconduct and false certifications with a government lender program. The agency said that Mortgageit acknowledged and accepted responsibility for false certifications it submitted to HUD in order to gain from a direct lender program under the Federal Housing Administration. For its part, Deutsche Bank admitted wrongdoing by failing to account for Mortgageit's activities when personnel with the financial institution were in a place to know about them.

In Connecticut, Clayton Holdings LLC has added a new senior-level leader. The company recently announced the appointment of Jenine Fitter as Clayton's senior managing director of business development.

Coester Appraisal Group is updating its technology offerings, recently announcing enhancements to the company's Cloud Control program. The platform upgrade will add Coester's automated appraisal review technology, C-Data, to the Cloud Control module.

Home prices rose by a seasonally adjusted 0.2 percent in February, the first increase since March last year, according to Lender Processing Services. The analytics and data provider said that several other indicators posted solid gains in February. Home prices averaged $195,000, the same as seen in June 2003. LPS also projected a 0.3 percent increase in national home prices on the whole come March. Of 26 metro areas surveyed by LPS and the Labor Department, only cities in California ├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔé¼┼ô Los Angeles, San Diego, and San Francisco ├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔé¼┼ô observed price declines.

Fannie Mae revealed that it produced $2.7 billion in net income for the first quarter this year, enough to prevent another draw from the Treasury, a first for the mortgage giant since it entered federal conservatorship in 2008. The favorable results offer a significant difference to a net loss of $6.5 billion from the same quarter last year, along with a net loss of $2.4 billion by the fourth quarter. Despite net income for the first quarter, Fannie Mae sustains a debt for more than $180 billion in taxpayer funds it has received with Freddie Mac since 2008.

Targeting better risk management for the mortgage-backed securities market, RiskSpan, Inc., has added a new independent pricing initiative to the company's service offerings. The enhancement will give risk managers, traders, and pricing professionals immediate, daily access to security prices and changes, enhancing risk mitigation and streamlining audits.

Proving that financial and mortgage professionals do take a break from the bank occasionally, Wells Fargo recently received an award from United Way in honor of the company's volunteer activities.

Mortgage origination numbers from the first quarter of the year are in and closing totals indicate a generally diminished lending pace. While diverse factors contributed to the decline in originations, the departure of two major correspondent lenders during the period are considered a key catalyst in driving down closings. According to statements from Mortgage Lender Ranking, residential production sunk by 5.56 percent between quarters. However, year-over-year origination tallies are in opposition to the quarter-to-quarter results, showing a 10.88 percent improvement.

Noting some recent strengthening in demand in the housing market, Capital Economics suggests housing prices "are close to, or already through, their trough," and recovery will continue through the coming months. While acknowledging the decline in home sales in March, Capital Economics├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ó analysts remain optimistic due to the recent increases in pending home sales. The National Association of Realtors' latest Pending Home Sales Index in March reached 101.4, its highest level since April 2010. Recent data on mortgage applications also point toward a strengthening market.

Mortgage applications went up last week as most other measures of application activity declined or stayed flat, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. The trade group found that mortgage application crept forward by 1.7 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis and 2 percent on a seasonally unadjusted basis. Government applications fell for purchases and conventional loans. Purchase indices ticked up 3.5 percent from the week before on 5.4 percent increase in conventional purchases. The Government Refinance Index dipped by 2.3 percent.