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Issue link: http://digital.themreport.com/i/105753
themreport.com Under Pressure MReport's online readership put mortgage banking's leaders under a microscope this month, gravitating toward headlines focused on industry heavyweights taking a turn in the hot seat. IndyMac Executives to Pay $169M in Damages Scott Van Dellen, former CEO of IndyMac's homebuilder unit; Richard Koon, former chief lending officer; and Kenneth Shellem, former chief credit officer were found liable for negligence and breach of fiduciary duty by a Los Angeles jury, ending a twoyear legal battle with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation over "negligent loans" made to homebuilders. The jury ruled that the three former IndyMac Bank officers must pay $169 million in damages. Ocwen Review Reveals Indications of Noncompliance The New York Department of Financial Services revealed that a review of Ocwen's business showed indications of noncompliance with recent servicing reforms. Though Ocwen was the first mortgage servicer to agree to the department's new mortgage servicing practices in 2011, the organization noted that simply agreeing to reforms is not enough, and following the examination, the department mandated that Ocwen hire an independent monitor to review its operations. Treasury Winds Down Stake in AIG Putting an end to its challenging relationship with American International Group, Inc. (AIG), the Treasury announced plans to sell the remainder of its shares in AIG common stock. Together, Treasury and the Federal Reserve invested $182.3 billion to stabilize the failing insurance behemoth at the start of the financial crisis; since then, AIG's size has been cut in half as the company divested itself of non-core assets. Log On! Are you an origination news junkie? Go to TheMReport.com and sign up to receive MReport news daily! We feature the top headlines and stories breaking daily via the MReport Daily newsletter, webcasts, and social media. If you need more, follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. 8 | The M Report Following the offering, Treasury will still hold warrants to purchase about 2.7 million shares of AIG common stock. Robert H. Benmosche, AIG's president and CEO, expressed his gratitude to the government, stating, "Thank you, America. Let's bring on tomorrow." Genworth Adding to Directorship to 'Rebuild' Value Faced with improving the company's value to shareholders, Genworth Financial, Inc., appointed David M. Moffet, former CEO and director of Freddie Mac, to the company's board as an independent director. Genworth's non-executive chairman of the board, James S. Riepe, commented that Moffet, who is currently a member of the board for both eBay, Inc., and CIT Group, Inc., would provide the company with "invaluable insights." Radar Logic Calls Housing Data into Question Despite reports of improvements in home prices and sales, Radar Logic released a new report revealing the company's assertions that housing is not doing as well as assumed. Stating that pricing increases are not the result of "significant appreciation in household-owned homes" but are due instead to a decline in "motivated sales," or sales of foreclosed homes and REOs, Radar cited findings from its RPX composite module indicating that homes sold through motivated sales were 34 percent lower than the composite price for all sales in September 2012.