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Issue link: http://digital.themreport.com/i/106030
themreport.com 10 for the Win MReport's online readership is closely tracking the industry's legal battles and evolving forecasts, gravitating toward headlines heralding housing's future. Only days after turning away from a lawsuit against the government over the terms of its bailout, American International Group (AIG), Inc., filed a case against the Federal Reserve Bank of New York over its right to sue other institutions. AIG's suit seeks no money for damages; rather, it revolves around an asset purchase agreement (APA) made in 2008 between itself and Maiden Lane II, a vehicle specially made by the New York Fed to purchase RMBS and relieve some of AIG's financial burden. Transitional 9 Ohio Adopts for License Rule Originators: 2 SoCal's Sales Volume Soars: 3 Capital Economics Soft on QM Rule: Responding to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's (CFPB) ability to repay rule and qualified mortgage standards, Capital Economics showed support for the policy changes, stating that the company believes they "will not hamper the housing recovery." The analytics firm went on to suggest that, "it's worthwhile asking whether these new rules are excessively permissive," adding that the CFPB's rules appear broad enough not to inhibit any recent progress toward recovery. 4 RPI Rises Alongside Demand: Rising demand and limited supply continued to drive up home prices in November 2012, based on the latest Residential Price Index (RPI) data from FNC, Inc. According to the company's findings, November was the ninth straight month during which prices climbed higher, leading to a total appreciation rate of 5.3 percent year-to-date. For the 12 months ending in November, prices rose 4.2 percent, the largest yearover-year increase since October 2006. 5 Builder Confidence Stalls to Start 2013: Builder confidence stagnated in January as the National Association of Home Builders' (NAHB) Housing Market Index (HMI) fell short of economists' expectations at 47 points. Though the index remains at its highest level since April 2006, analysts expected the index to tick up to 48. December's reading was unchanged at 47, but one of the index components—the outlook for sales six months in the future—notched down to 50 from the originally reported 51. 6 MBIA Sues Flagstar for Misrepresenting MBS: Alleging that the financial institution misrepresented the quality of $1.02 billion in mortgage-backed securities (MBS) dating from 2006 and 2007, MBIA Insurance Corporation has filed suit against Flagstar Bancorp, Inc. The assets in question were insured by MBIA, resulting in a $165 million loss for the company, according to a complaint filed in a U.S. District Court in the Southern District of New York. "Flagstar's warranties were false," stated MBIA. 7 Chase Posts Record Profits, Again : Citing "strong underlying performance across virtually all [its] businesses," JPMorgan Chase reported record profits for its third straight year. According to its most recent 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 8 MERS Wins Dismissal in Fee Case: A U.S. district judge in Missouri has dismissed a recording fee suit filed by officials in Jackson County against Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc. (MERS), on the grounds that the county "cannot enforce a nonexistent obligation." Missouri is the fifth state in which judges have granted MERS' motions to dismiss similar recording fee lawsuits, according to Jason Lobo, Merscorp's director of corporate communications. 1 AIG Files Against New York Fed: The housing market in California's Southland region posted a strong close to 2012, hitting a three-year high for home sales recorded during December, according to real estate information company DataQuick. With a total of 20,274 new and existing residences sold in Los Angeles, Riverside, San Diego, Ventura, San Bernardino, and Orange counties in December, the area's sales rose 5.1 percent from the previous month and 5.3 percent year-over-year. quarterly filing, Chase took in $5.7 billion in net income during 2012's final quarter, up 53 percent from the same quarter in 2011. Revenue for the quarter was $24.4 billion, up 10 percent compared with the prior year. During 2012, the bank reported a record $21.3 billion, a step up from $19 billion in 2011, and revenue for the year remained flat at $99.9 billion. When it reaches implementation in March, a new law in Ohio will allow licensed originators from out of state to obtain temporary loan originator licenses while completing requirements to obtain formal licensure. Ohio became the first state to create such a law, and Ballard Spahr associate Matthew Saunig called the pro-lending initiative reflective of "the industry's desire for the creation of less rigid … laws." 10 S&P Dow JonesREIT Launches New Index: S&P Dow Jones Indices announced the launch of the Dow Jones U.S. Select Equal Weight Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) Index, which is designed to gauge the performance of publicly traded REITs and REIT-like securities as a proxy for direct real estate investment. To be listed on the index, a company must be both an equity owner and operator of commercial or residential real estate, and at least 75 percent of the organization's total revenue must be derived from the ownership and operation of real estate assets.