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Fargo's actions would be interpreted in any way other than our sincere interest and concern for customers impacted by the storm and our effort to be certain that they get the full relief available to them." The spokesperson further explained, "Just as we paused modification decisions, Wells Fargo began suspending all foreclosure sales in FEMA-declared disaster areas immediately after Sandy made landfall, over two weeks ago. We also stopped new foreclosure referrals and suspended evictions immediately." The suspensions and any foreclosure activity will last a minimum of 90 days for Wells Fargo loans, according to the spokesperson. The letter from the AG was addressed to the CEO of Wells Fargo and demands that the bank "immediately rescind" the policy and "comply with its obligations without interruption." Greystone Expands with Bassuk Organization Partnership Greystone, a leading national provider of multifamily and commercial mortgage loans, announced in November 2012 it is teaming up with The Bassuk Organization to form the Greystone Bassuk Group. The group's aim is to provide expanded real estate and financial services, including creative debt and equity financing, to commercial real estate (CRE) clients with multifamily assets across the United States. The new group will combine Greystone's loan expertise with The Bassuk Organization's experience providing real estate investment banking services to do so. "By combining Greystone's and The Bassuk Organization's strengths, we plan to make cutting-edge products available to our many clients, offering them an in-depth range of services including providing bridge and permanent loans and other financial resources to facilitate acquisition financing, refinancing, and restructuring," said Stephen Rosenberg, founder and CEO of Greystone. Richard Bassuk, chairman and CEO of The Bassuk Organization, agreed that the partnership would open new doors for the companies and their clients. "The Greystone Bassuk Group will combine the national reach, expanded platform, financial strength and creative programs of 148 Greystone with The Bassuk Organization's presence in the New York marketplace and its decades of experience providing financing and consulting services, including 80/20 transactions and arranging development and permanent financing for large-scale rental and condominium projects for some of New York's most sophisticated developers and owners," Bassuk said. According to a release from the companies, the joint venture is currently developing new and innovative programs to take advantage of historically low interest rates. The venture will share office space in Greystone's New York headquarters. Sandy Survivors Band Together for Happy Holiday Hurricane Sandy may have destroyed the east coast, but it did not dampen the Christmas spirit. The storm devastated the Northeast during a course of days and many businesses were not and will not be able to recover. But, that doesn't mean that holiday cheer isn't being spread in the region. Tom Yovino, the owner of Island Advantage Realty, despite his personal misfortune from the storm, decided to help out the local community and find a way to bring Christmas to Long Island. "We had the storm come through and it devastated our area, Yovino said. "A lot of people aren't going to be able to rebuild. It's tough and there's going to be no holidays for a lot of people." He partnered with Home Depot, Lowe's, and The Christmas Tree Farmers Association to donate thousands of Christmas trees to Long Island families. Toys for Tots stepped up and donated toys for the children in the area, but they had no where to place the toys. Yovino agreed to be a distribution point for the Christmas trees. He knew that while his storm damage was significant, he would be okay unlike many families in the area. "I got destroyed I know I'm going to be okay in the future because I'm going to have the insurance come through," he said. Yovino volunteered one of the buildings he owns to be the center of Christmas tree distribution in a large event open to the entire community on Dec. 15, 2012. He contacted the school district prior to the event and they allowed a flyer to land in the book bag with every child so that the entire community would be aware. Major corporations like Dunkin Donuts and Starbucks donated food and refreshments for the event. New York Fed Launches Tool for Tri-State's Housing Market The Federal Reserve Bank of New York announced in December 2012 the launch of a new interactive tool designed to provide data on the state of the housing recovery in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut. The Housing Market Recovery web page provides a series of interactive visuals to display where home prices have recovered and to what extent. The page also highlights the recovery's effect on home equity and affordability. For example, one map can be used to compare county-level median home prices in 2012 with those of previous years. Another chart compares home price indices for select parts of the region relative to the national price peak in 2006. Current data on the site show significant variation across regional counties in the tristate area. For example, median home prices have rebounded back to peak levels in 35 percent of counties, most of which are located in upstate New York. As of September 2012, 82 percent of counties in the region have seen a rise in prices during the year, suggesting that local markets may have hit bottom. The tool is available at the New York Fed's website. It will be updated with more information as the data becomes available. JPMorgan, Credit Suisse Settle RMBS Charges JPMorgan Securities LLC and Credit Suisse Securities paid a combined $416.9 million to settle charges of misleading investors in the sale of residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS), the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced in late November. According to the SEC's complaint against JPMorgan, the bank misstated information about the delinquency status of mortgages that provided collateral for an RMBS offering it underwrote. JPMorgan received fees of more than $2.7 million, and investors