Kazwell.com

During the final month of 2011, the number of loan modifications completed under the government's program saw the smallest gain in the history of the program.

The Obama administration reported that 762,839 permanent loan modifications were active as of Dec. 31, 2011. The modifications were completed through the Home Affordable Modification Program.

That was a gain of 12,091 over November -- the smallest gain on record.

A grand jury has indicted DocX and founder Lorraine Brown, who could spend up to seven years in prison if she is convicted.

Charges were based on 68 foreclosure documents with signatures in the name of Linda Green but allegedly not actually signed by Green.

The criminal indictment is just one in a series of civil and criminal legal woes plaguing DocX parent Lender Processing Services.

A Seattle bank has picked up a majority of the production personnel employed in the Northwest by MetLife Home Loans.

The planned shutdown of the MetLife Inc. subsidiary was disclosed last month. Mortgage staffing at MetLife stood at 5,507 as of Sept. 30, 2011.

A MetLife spokesman recently explained that while a maximum 4,300 layoffs could occur, some of those employees will end up in other MetLife jobs while others will leave to work at other companies.

Mortgage brokers and non-bank mortgage lenders will soon be required to file reports when mortgage fraud is suspected. The additional compliance burden is likely to lead to an increase in filing statistics even though actual fraud activity could retreat.

Non-bank residential lenders will now be required to file suspicious activity reports under new regulations finalized Tuesday.

SARs reports help identify straw buyers, fraudulent flips and short-sale fraud.

While retail originators of federally insured reverse mortgages made production gains last year, wholesale lenders struggled to keep up. As three formerly prominent players exited the reverse lending arena, two firms have established themselves as the new retail and wholesale leaders.

Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., exited the reverse lending arena with a bang.

The company, which last June said it would stop originating home-equity conversion mortgages, saw 15,673 retail and wholesale HECMs endorsed by the Federal Housing Administration during all of 2011 -- more than any other lender.