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VISIT US ONLINE @ DSNEWS.COM improve the experience for our brokers and agents, but gets a quality product in the hands of our clients sooner so they can make timely and informed decisions." EML is a Fort Worth, Texas-based provider of residential valuation products and data solutions, including broker price opinions, residential appraisal, and automated valuation models. Bank, Groups Attempt to Do Away with CFPB The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) faces a new legal challenge as a Texas community bank and two conservative groups launch a lawsuit to undo it and the financial reform law that created it two years ago. The Big Spring, Texas-based State National Bank has paired with the Competitive Enterprise Institute and 60 Plus Association to sue the embattled consumer bureau in federal court. The suit challenges the constitutionality of the CFPB and the Dodd-Frank Act, as well as President Barack Obama's decision to recess-appoint CFPB director Richard Cordray in January. The Hill quoted Jim Purcell, CEO of State National Bank, as saying "[n]o other federal agency or commission operates in such a way that one person can essentially determine who gets a home loan, who can get a credit card, and who can get a loan for college." The suit cites "harm" done to State National Bank by Dodd-Frank, with claims that uncertainty facilitated by the reform law forced the financial institution to stop making mortgage loans for homeowners. C. Boyden Gray, a former White House general counsel, is representing the plaintiffs. The consumer bureau seemed to dismiss the suit. "This lawsuit appears to dredge up old arguments that have already been discredited," Jennifer Howard, CFPB spokesperson, said in an e-mail to sister publication MReport. "We're going to keep our focus on the important work Congress created us to do–making markets work for consumers and responsible providers." Rep. Spencer Bachus (R-Alabama) issued a statement in support of structural reform efforts aimed at the consumer bureau. "There is no question the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau—by the design of Dodd-Frank Act supporters—lacks accountability and transparency," he said. "As it is currently structured, the CFPB is one of the most powerful and least accountable agencies in all of Washington." The suit names Cordray, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, and the Federal Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) as defendents. Beyond claims against the constitutionality of the CFPB and Dodd-Frank, the suit claims charges that the FSOC will disadvantage smaller financial institutions by conferring special status on larger banks that it declares systemically important to the global financial system. "Taken together, these provisions provide the FSOC virtually boundless discretion in making its highly consequential designations, a violation of the separation of powers," the suit stated. Houston Housing Market Shows Marked Improvements in May The Houston housing market made some major strides in May, seeing an increase in the number of single-family home sales by 23.8 percent compared to a year earlier, according to the Houston Association of Realtors (HAR). Average prices climbed by 8.5 percent year-over-year to $237,083. The median price, which is the figure at which half of the homes sold for more and half sold for less, increased by 7.1 percent to $168,000. The rise in average and median home prices was driven by increased sales of homes $250,000 and up. Foreclosure sales, as reported in the multiple listing service (MLS), increased by 6.6 percent (year-over-year) in May. Foreclosures accounted for 17.8 percent of all property sales; in January, the share recorded was 27.8 percent. The median price of May foreclosures rose 4.1 percent to $82,000. May sales of all property types in Houston totaled 7,327, a 24.2 percent increase compared to last year in May. Total dollar volume for properties sold during the month surged 35.4 percent to $1.6 billion versus $1.2 billion a year earlier. At a supply of 5.5 months, inventory of single-family homes hit the lowest level since March 2007. A year ago, the level in May was 7.9 months. With the national level at 6.6 months, according to data from the National Association of Realtors, the HAR said this illustrates that Houston is outpacing the national housing recovery. FICS Reports 175% Increase in User Volume Financial Industry Computer Systems, Inc. (FICS) reported in late June that a rising demand for commercial real estate (CRE) servicing software has led to a major increase in the Dallas-based company's user volume. FICS said it saw a 175 percent increase in user volume for its Commercial Servicer product over the previous nine months. Users of the company's Commercial Servicer software cite its powerful reporting features and ease-of-use as the keys to supporting additional growth. The software supports industry standard reporting methods and ensures compliance with federal agencies by generating specialized accounting reports and interface data files for Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Ginnie Mae, and CRE Finance Council. The simplicity and reduction in time spent searching for loan information is a major boon for CWCapital LLC, said Brian Knibbs, VP of investor reporting and database management for CWCapital. The national lender has increased its usage of Commercial Servicer by 40 percent in the last six months to support the rapid growth of its portfolio. "In addition to the functionality, Commercial Servicer is such an intuitive program, it requires very little training time when adding new users," Knibbs said. "We can quickly train new users, and FICS goes above and beyond in providing outstanding customer service year-in and year-out." "Commercial real estate carries its own complex servicing challenges, and we designed Commercial Servicer to enable our users to manage the servicing process as simply as possible," said Susan Graham, president and CEO of FICS. "We're excited to see so many of our customers, like CWCapital and Largo Real Estate Advisors, expanding their business in this economy and that FICS has been able to support their technology needs." FICS was founded in 1983 and provides residential and commercial technology solutions to the mortgage industry. KNOW THIS Texas is home to six of the nation's 10 fastest-growing cities, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. 105

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