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IN THE NEWS UBS Settles Mortgage Claims with FHFA UBS announced in July it reached an agreement in principle with the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) to settle claims related to soured residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) sold to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. UBS was one of 18 institutions hit with a lawsuit by FHFA, acting as the GSEs' conservator, for securities sold between 2004 and 2007. According to a statement from the bank's U.S. headquarters in New York, it has highlighted the case in its litigation note since the third quarter of 2011. FHFA says UBS will pay a total of $885 million: $415 million to Fannie Mae and $470 million to Freddie Mac. The settlement is subject to documentation and final approval by both parties. In a statement for the FHFA, acting director Edward DeMarco said, "The satisfactory resolution of this matter provides greater clarity and certainty in the marketplace and is in line with our responsibility for preserving and conserving Fannie Mae's and Freddie Mac's assets on behalf of taxpayers." New York City Housing Crisis Not Over Yet New York City followed the nation's overall boom-bust cycle during the housing crisis and now appears to be on the mend. However, some parts of the metro area are not yet experiencing the housing recovery that is making headlines in other parts of the nation, according to a report from New York University's (NYU) Furman Center for Real Estate & Urban Policy. New York home prices fell 15.7 percent since 2007, the university center's analysis shows. Certain sections of the Big Apple fared worse than others. The northern Bronx, southeast Queens, and northeastern Brooklyn areas took the worst hits, while Manhattan home values held their ground somewhat better. Currently, "prices remain well below their peak and close to 2004 levels in all boroughs but Manhattan," the report reads. "By contrast, Manhattan experienced a relatively modest and short-lived downturn, and prices have returned to their peak levels." 132 The price slump in much of the city is not the only indicator that the major metro is not in full recovery mode. "Pre-foreclosure notices and underwater loans indicate that the crisis is not over," the researchers state in their report. While foreclosure notices declined 2 percent between 2011 and 2012, they are still elevated in most of New York's boroughs, according to the report. With more than 30,000 foreclosure notices in 2012, Queens holds more than 10 percent of the state's foreclosure notices. Queens had 4 percent more foreclosure notices in 2011. Additionally, 15.4 percent of borrowers with outstanding mortgages in New York City were underwater in 2012. As with price depreciation and foreclosure notices, Manhattan residents fared better. Twelve percent of Manhattan mortgagees were underwater in 2012, while in the Bronx 26 percent of mortgagees were underwater. The crisis did not leave renters any better off, according to NYU's report. While home prices fell, rents rose 8.5 percent from 2007 to 2011. "Indeed, New York City renters continued to face severe affordability challenges in 2012, with stagnant incomes and rising rents," according to the report. Private-Sector Coalition Hires 77K Veterans A private-sector coalition that aims to hire 100,000 U.S. military veterans by 2020 has moved quickly toward its goal. According to an announcement from 100,000 Jobs Mission, 77,612 veterans have found employment as of the second quarter of this year. The initiative, which was started in 2011 by JPMorgan Chase and 10 other companies, currently has 109 members that represent a range of industries. "There is no other group that deserves our support more than our veterans," said JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon at a quarterly meeting in New York. "Not only are we nearing our goal of hiring 100,000 veterans, but by sharing experiences at our quarterly coalition meetings, we are gaining a deeper understanding of the obstacles to veteran employment in the civilian workforce and how to overcome them," added Maureen Casey, managing director of Military and Veterans Affairs at JPMorgan. Military and veteran job seekers and their spouses can connect with military-friendly employers by visiting VTX.jobs. North Carolina rank: 30 90+ Day Delinquency Rate Foreclosure Rate June 2013 2.6% Unemployment Rate 1.8% 8.8% year ago 2.9% 3.0% 9.6% year-over-year change -9.2% -41.0% -8.3% Top County 90+ Day Delinquency Rate BerTie CouNTy Foreclosure Rate June 2013 3.7% 4.0% year ago 3.3% 6.1% year-over-year change 13.6% -33.7% Top Core-Based Statistical Area LAuriNBurg, NC 90+ Day Delinquency Rate Foreclosure Rate June 2013 2.8% 2.6% year ago 4.0% 3.4% year-over-year change -30.3% -25.3% note: The 90+ day delinquecy rate is the percentage of outstanding mortgage loans that are seriously delinquent. The foreclosure rate is the percentage of outstanding mortgage loans currently in foreclosure. State rank is based on the June 2013 foreclosure rate. All figures are rounded to the nearest decimal. The unemployment rate reflects preliminary June 2013 figures released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. All other data courtesy of LPS Applied Analytics. IN THE NEWS SEC, Justice Department Sue BofA over $855M RMBS Offering The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Justice Department filed separate complaints against Bank of America (BofA) and certain subsidiaries for allegedly misrepresenting an $855 million offering of residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS). The SEC's complaint, filed in U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina, stated the offering, known as BOAMS 2008-A, was sold as "prime" securitization. However, more than 70 percent of the offering originated through the bank's wholesale channel of third-party mortgage brokers. Even though the wholesale channel loans carried greater risk, the bank did not disclose information regarding the associated risks to investors, according to government officials. In addition, more than 40 percent of the 1,191 mortgages in the offering did not conform to the bank's own guidelines, the Justice

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