Monday morning cup of coffee

A look at stories across HousingWire’s weekend desk … with more coverage to come on bigger issues: The Council of the District of Columbia approved the Saving DC Homes from Foreclosure provision that requires lenders to engage in a four-month mediation period with delinquent borrowers to discuss payment options before foreclosure. Under district law, a lender must send two separate notices to a borrower informing them of their right to a mediation period. A borrower may elect not to participate in a mediation session; a lender is required to participate. The meetings are held in person. Lenders must also send a copy of every default notice to the D.C. Department of Insurance, Securities and Banking, which will keep track of the case and possibly request additional information from a lender. The law applies only in the District of Columbia. The Credit Union National Association held a summit Saturday in Chicago to develop a plan to protect credit union operations. Eighty executive officers from top CUNA panels, corporates, leagues, vendor groups and the National Association of Federal Credit Unions discussed the current state of corporate credit unions and what additional services they will need to provide natural-person credit unions in the future. Fred Becker, president of NAFCU, said the summit was a step in the right direction. “I am greatly impressed with the proactive approach member-owner natural person credit unions are taking are taking in setting the course for their corporate credit unions,” Becker said after the meeting Saturday. “As a result, the framework for the future is becoming more apparent.” President of the National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association, Peter Bell, said the Federal Housing Administration’s reverse mortgage program may become self sufficient because of the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage Saver. The HECM Saver allows borrowers to take out a smaller principle on the mortgage for a reduced up-front fee, 0.01% of the principle balance. Under the HECM Standard option, the upfront mortgage insurance premium will remain at 2% of the value of the property, or 2% of the maximum FHA loan limit of $625,500, if the property has a value greater than that. In what could be a precedent-setting case, 73-year-old San Jose resident, Corazon Palma, won a lawsuit against Washington Mutual (WM) for wrongful foreclosure on her home. According to an article in the Portland Business Journal, Palma sent in a packet and request for a loan modification on her home. The bank told Palma her case was being taken care of and negotiations on a loan were in progress. However, within a month a real estate agent informed her that her home had been sold at a trustee sale, meaning it had already been foreclosed on. Three banks failed on Friday, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., bringing the 2010 count to 146 banks. In 2009, 140 banks closed. The Arizona Department of Financial Institutions closed Copper Star Bank in Scottsdale. Stearns Bank National Association in St. Cloud, Minn. assumed the $190.2 million in deposits and agreed to purchase essentially all of Cooper Star’s $204 million assets. The FDIC will retain the rest and estimated the closing cost to the DIF to be $43.6 million. The Georgia Department of Banking and Finance closed both Tifton Banking Co. in Tifton and Darby Bank & Trust Co. in Vidalia. Ameris Bank in Moultrie, Ga. agreed to acquire both banks. The two closed institutions were not affiliated. Ameris assumed $141.6 million in deposits from Tifton and $587.6 million in deposits from Darby. Ameris also agreed to purchase essentially all of the two failed institutions’ assets. At its time of closing, Tifton Banking Co. held $143.7 million worth of assets and Darby Bank & Trust Co. held $654.7 million. The FDIC will retain the rest and estimated the combined closing cost to the DIF to be $160.8 million. The Community Clearinghouse Agency of Lancaster, Pa. introduced a zero-interest mortgage product on Saturday. The mortgages will only go to owner-occupants and will require a monthly fee, which is around $100. All payments minus the CCA servicing charges, the firm says, go towards the principal so that the home is typically paid for in 12 years. Write to Christine Ricciardi. The author holds no relevant investments.