Senior Deputy Comptroller for Bank Supervision Policy and Chief National Bank Examiner John C. Lyons today testified on proposed capital rules to improve the safety and soundness of our nation's banking system by ensuring that banks and savings associations of all sizes have sufficient capital to weather adverse conditions and unforeseen losses.

Fed Could Step Up Bond Buying in 2013: FOMC Minutes<br/>http://www.cnbc.com//id/49825612

Officials at Bank of America said they are half way to fulfilling their mandate of providing $7.6 billion worth of consumer relief.

Our country is in the midst of recovering from an unprecedented housing crisis. At the start of the crisis, the mortgage industry was not prepared to help the number of homeowners in need of assistance. Mortgage servicers were focused primarily on collecting payments on behalf of investors rather than providing customer service to struggling homeowners. When the crisis hit, many homeowners were not getting the help they needed and customer service was often dismal. There were no standardized processes for assisting homeowners to prevent foreclosures. These challenges presented themselves as the Obama administration took steps to get relief to homeowners. Today the U.S. Department of the Treasury is releasing a special report called " Making Contact: The Path to Improving Mortgage Industry Communication with Homeowners " that details the steps Treasury and other federal agencies took to get the mortgage industry to improve customer service in the Federal government's Making Home Affordable Program , including through Single Point of Contact requirements. The report offers the most detailed information published to date on implementation of Single Point of Contact requirements which are now becoming standards across the mortgage industry. The Single Point of Contact requirements represent one of the largest operational changes required of mortgage servicers to improve their communication with struggling homeowners who may be eligible for assistance to avoid foreclosure. The report offers a snapshot of efforts underway by the nine largest servicers who participate in the program (Bank of America, Citi Mortgage, GMAC Mortgage, Homeward Residential, JPMorgan Chase, Ocwen Loan Servicing, One West Bank, Select Portfolio Servicing and Wells Fargo). While it is still too early to draw conclusions about the most effective ways to implement Single Point of Contact requirements, and while further improvements in servicing are still needed, this report is intended to...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Federal Housing Administration, weighed down by losses on souring loans, will release a report on its finances later this week that could point up the possibility it may require taxpayer aid for the first time in its 78-year history. The annual analysis, overseen by an independent auditor, will calculate the [...]

The collapse of the housing market in 2008 brought a huge increase in home delinquencies and foreclosures.By the first quarter of 2010, the Fed found that the mortgage delinquency rate had topped 11 percent, the highest figure on record and over five times the 2 percent rate three years previously: Read full article >>

Community Banks' Basel III Burden to Be Hearing's Focus Businessweek U.S. banking regulators will write capital rules shaped by community-banker concerns that the proposals are too harsh, agency officials will tell critical lawmakers at a hearing today. The Senate Banking Committee will question officials from agencies seeking ... and more »

A firm that advises one of the largest public unions in the U.S. requested on Wednesday that Citigroup mull the possibility of breaking up its financial supermarket, putting new public pressure on the beleaguered banking giant as it undergoes a leadership transition.

MBIA Outflanked by BofA in Toxic Bond Battle Businessweek MBIA Outflanked by BofA in Toxic Bond Battle. Bank of America's offer may provoke a liquidity crisis at MBIA that would bolster the lender's case against a 2009 restructuring. MBIA is separately suing Bank of America, seeking to force it to buy back faulty loans ... and more »

Mortgage Applications Rise on Sandy Rebound<br/>http://www.cnbc.com//id/49818210

Buffett's New CEO Calls Housing Gain 'Start of Something Good' Bloomberg Mary Rhinehart, who was named chief executive officer of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK/A)'s Johns Manville building-products unit yesterday, said that a pick-up in housing starts shows that the U.S. real estate market is reviving. "It's still off of a very low base, ... and more »