While fraud in the financial services sector declined year-over-year from April through June, mortgage fraud increased, according to the latest report from Experian, a global information services company based in London. Thirty-nine out of every 10,000 mortgage applications were fraudulent during the April to June period, up from 32 out of 10,000 in the same period last year, according to Experian. Mortgage fraud far outpaced savings account fraud.

Five months after the nation's top five servicers settled with the states attorneys general and several federal agencies to address iniquities in foreclosure processes, Joseph A. Smith, Jr., the settlement monitor, released a preliminary report to inform the public of the servicers' progress so far. Thus far, the five servicers ├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔé¼┼ô Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Citigroup, and Ally Financial ├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔé¼┼ô offered $10.56 billion in relief to borrowers and have implemented between 35 and 72 percent of the 304 servicing standards detailed in the national settlement.

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York announced an important milestone Thursday ├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔé¼┼ô the final sale of its remaining securities from the 2008 AIG bailout. The final sales from Maiden Lane III, one of the struggling mortgage-related portfolios the Fed usurped in 2008, brought the Fed├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ós total profit from AIG securities to $6.6 billion. The Fed has been shedding its AIG securities since early this year with the sale of its final Maiden Lane II securities in February, followed by sales of some Maiden Lane III securities in June.

Fifth Third Bank outshined all other servicers in Fannie Mae├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ós Servicer Total Achievement and Rewards Program in 2011. The bank came closer than any other bank to receiving four out of five available stars for performance in foreclosure prevention. A five-star rating ├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├àÔÇ£represents superior performance wherein the servicer is meeting or exceeding Fannie Mae├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ós targets,├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├é┬Ø according to Fannie Mae. No Servicer came close to this rating in 2011.

Outpacing industry forecasts, mortgage originations ticked up 5.2 percent in the second quarter, totaling $405 billion during the three-month period, according to a report released this week from Keefe, Bruyette & Woods. On an annual basis, originations are up 44.6 percent, according to the study. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods suggests much of the increase came from refinance activity driven by low interest rates. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods predicts strong origination volume next quarter.

As the housing market and the overall economy crawl languidly toward an elusive recovery many believe will still take years to achieve, President Barack Obama suggests the key to progress is a broad housing refinance plan. Obama endorses a bill that would allow underwater homeowners to refinance at current interest rates, which continue to wallow near historic lows. A few senators have proposed bills recently to allow more homeowners to refinance their mortgages.

Wells Fargo faces litigation from Best Medical, Inc., part of Virginia-based TeamBest, which creates and distributes medical products and technology. The litigation, which originated in spring 2010, was elevated to the U.S. federal court in Alexandria, Virginia, about two weeks ago. Best Medical alleges Wells Fargo discriminated against the company when calling commercial mortgage loans. The company claims its commercial mortgage loans were fully performing, and submitted payments upfront.

Mortgage applications decreased 4.5 percent over the week last week with most of the decrease occurring among refinance applications, according to the latest survey from the Mortgage Bankers Association. Refinance activity fell 5 percent compared to the previous week, while purchase activity declined 2 percent. Refinance applications continue to make up a majority of applications, taking an 81 percent share of total mortgage application activity for the week ending August 10. Adjustable-rate mortgages made up 4 percent of total applications for the week.

After reaching a record high of 77.5 percent in the first quarter of this year, housing affordability declined to 73.8 percent in the second quarter of this year, according to the Housing Opportunity Index. The HOI measures the percentage of homes sold in a particular quarter that are affordable to those earning at the median income level. In the second quarter, 73.8 percent of homes sold were affordable to those earning the national median income of $65,000. Fairbanks, Alaska, posted the highest affordability rate.

The FDIC launched a suit against 12 banks Friday regarding misrepresentations of residential mortgage-backed securities sold to now-defunct, Alabama-based Colonial Bank. Among those accused are some of the nation├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ós largest banks, including JPMorgan Chase, Citi, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo. The 12 banks sold more than $3.88 million in securities to colonial bank, and the FDIC alleges the banks misrepresented several aspects of the loans making up the securities in the lead-up to the financial crisis.