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40 FHFA REPORTS: GSES' PREVENTION ACTIONS EDGE CLOSE TO 4 MILLION Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac sealed a combined 18,034 foreclosure prevention actions in October 2017, up from 12,322 in September 2017, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency's (FHFA) October 2017 Foreclosure Prevention Report. e GSE conservatorships have sealed 3,990,723 prevention actions since September 2008. according to the more than half of the prevention actions recorded in October—11,010—were permanent loan modifications, inching up the total of permanent mods to 2,129,220 since September 2008. What's more, 39 percent of mods completed in October were those with principal forbearance, the report says. Slightly eclipsing that number, extend-term only modifications comprised 44 percent of all loan modifications during that month. As for short sales and deeds-in-lieu of foreclosure finalized in October, that number was down a bit compared with September: 1,147 in October versus 1,158 the previous month, according to the report. at being said, however, October saw 839 completed short sales compared with 828 the prior month. Some 308 deeds-in-lieu made it to completion in October, contrasting with 330 tallied in September. In terms of Fannie and Freddie's mortgage performance, the serious delinquency rate stayed flat—0.95 percent—at the close of October, which means roughly 78 percent of borrowers who received a modification in both October and September were three or more months behind on their mortgage payment, according to the report. e 60-plus-day delinquency rate leaped from 368,182 in September to 401,818 in October. ird-party and foreclosure sales dipped from 4,905 in September to 4,776 in October, while the number of foreclosure starts jumped from 12,830 in September to 13,601 in October. Completed foreclosure prevention actions grew from 11,164 in September to 16,887 in October, driven mostly by loan modifications and forbearance plans. HOMEOWNER NEEDS AFTER WILDFIRES FALL SHORT OF EXPECTATIONS More than 4,000 households impacted by the October 2017 wildfires in Sonoma County, California, are eligible for government-provided temporary public housing. Of these only 184 are currently living in a direct housing option such as manufactured housing units, recreational vehicles, or in directly leased units, according to statistics released by the Department of Homeland Security. e statistics also revealed that eight joint local assistance centers and disaster recovery centers were set up to provide face-to-face disaster assistance for the 16,653 survivors. Low-interest disaster loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) are also available. SBA approved 927 loan applications from homeowners and 110 applications from business owners. Despite these steps, the demand for government-provided housing is low in the county as many displaced residents found accommodations through their friends and family or through their insurance companies. More than two-thirds of eligible fire victims had found new accommodations on their own, Robert Presapane, Sonoma County Division Supervisor for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), told e Press Democrat newspaper. "e fire victims seeking housing from FEMA represent less than 6 percent of those the agency found so far compared to a historical norm of around 10 percent from other disasters," Presapane said. FEMA had housed 82 applicants at the fairgrounds site in southeast Santa Rosa and had nearly 40 more RV spots available there. Another 53 applicants were being housed by FEMA in apartments. e article said that federal and local officials acknowledged that the housing need could still evolve. "FEMA had not been able to reach 580 housing-eligible applicants through multiple phone calls, possibly reflecting some fire victims who registered for government aid assistance and then decided they didn't require it," Presapane said. BANK OF AMERICA POSTS SOLID RESULTS FOR Q4 2017 Bank of America released its financial earnings for Q 4 2017, reporting a strong quarter. e bank reported a net income of $2.4 billion, and earnings per share of $0.20. Its net revenue increased 2 percent to $20.4 billion in Q 4 2017 from $20.0 billion a year earlier. Net interest income increased 11 percent to $11.5 billion, reflecting benefits from higher interest rates and loan and deposit growth. However, its noninterest income decreased 7 percent to $9 billion due to the impact of the Tax Act and lower mortgage banking income, partially offset by higher asset management fees, investment banking revenues, and card income. "Responsible growth delivered solid results in 2017. Pretax earnings rose 17 percent, and we continued to close in on our long-term return targets. We gained market share across our businesses while carefully managing credit, risk exposures, and expenses," said Brian Moynihan, CEO at Bank of America. e bank's consumer banking business continued to post solid growth with revenues rising 10 percent to $9 billion and loans and deposits rising 9 percent and 8 percent respectively. Its mobile banking active users increased 12 percent to 24.2 million, while the credit/debit spend went up 7 percent to $143 billion. e bank's Merrill Edge brokerage assets were up 22 percent. "We invested in technology, client engagement, and in our own team, including the $1,000 bonus we announced last month for 145,000 employees. We also shared our success with stakeholders through our high level of funding philanthropic initiatives, our 2 million employee volunteer hours, and our commitment to long-term shareholder value by returning nearly $17 billion in capital through common stock repurchases and dividends," Moynihan said.

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