Thursday, May 23, 2013

Friday May 24 Housing and Economic stories


TOP STORIES:

Most of Cyprus pain inflicted on overseas depositors, central bank says - (www.reuters.com) Cyprus' central bank said on Thursday most of the depositors who lost money at bailed-out Bank of Cyprus were from overseas and that Cypriots had not been hit as hard as might have been expected. "Seventy percent of the value of deposits concerned overseas residents, leaving Cypriot households and businesses unaffected to a greater extent than was possibly expected," Central Bank of Cyprus Governor Panicos Demetriades told a news conference. He said overall 96 percent of deposits in Cyprus were unaffected by losses on larger accounts required by the euro zone in exchange for aid to the overly indebted country.

Stodgy Netherlands is nation that'll blow up euro - Matthew Lynn - (www.marketwatch.com) Which euro-zone country is most deeply in debt? The profligate Greeks, with their generous state-funded pensions? The Cypriots and their banks stuffed with dodgy Russian money? The recession-hit Spaniards or the boom-and-bust Irish? None of the above. Actually, it is the sober, responsible Dutch. Consumer debt in the Netherlands has hit 250% of available income, one of the highest levels in the world. In Spain, by comparison, it has never gone above 125%. The Netherlands has turned into one of the most heavily indebted countries in the world. It has slumped into recession and shows very little sign of coming out of it. The euro crisis has been dragging on for three years now but so far has only infected the peripheral nations within the single currency. But the Netherlands is a core member of both the euro and the European Union. If it can’t survive in the euro zone, then the game really will be up.

Federal judge questions constitutionality of Colorado foreclosure law - (www.denverpost.com) A federal judge on Monday made the rare move to stop the foreclosure auction of an Aurora woman's house in a case that squarely takes on the constitutionality of Colorado's foreclosure laws. U.S. District Judge William Martinez issued a preliminary injunction against the sale of Lisa Kay Brumfiel's four-bedroom home, scheduled for Wednesday in Arapahoe County, until the judge can decide whether parts of state law are unfair to homeowners facing the loss of their house. At issue is a provision in state law that allows lawyers to assert that their client, typically a bank, has the right to foreclose on a property even though they might not have the original mortgage paperwork to prove it. What makes the case compelling isn't just that a federal judge was persuaded to step into an issue involving state law — extremely difficult to do — but the plaintiff in the case is a part-time saleswoman who has taken on the battle without a lawyer.

Big Banks Push Back Against Tighter Rules - (online.wsj.com) The nation's biggest banks are going on the offensive to fend off growing efforts in Washington to rein them in. The banks have hired longtime, influential Washington hands to deflect regulatory and political pressure to strengthen their finances and to sell assets. Regulators and some lawmakers have raised concern that large banks remain "too big to fail" and could require another government bailout in the event of a new financial meltdown. The effort by banks marks a lobbying turning point for the industry, which adopted a mostly low-profile stance to new regulations in the wake of the financial crisis. 

2 banks violated mortgage accord (news.yahoo.com)  New York's attorney general on Monday accused Wells Fargo and Bank of America of violating the terms of last year's national mortgage settlement by failing to process hundreds of refinancing requests promptly. Attorney General Eric Schneiderman has notified the national monitoring committee established to enforce the five-bank agreement, citing complaints of 210 prompt-processing violations by Wells Fargo and 129 by Bank of America. If the committee defers taking action, Schneiderman said he will sue for compliance. Under the settlement, the banks are required to respond to mortgage modification requests within 30 days. Schneiderman said delays put homeowners further into debt from missed payments and penalties, pushing them closer to foreclosure.






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