The Conference of State Bank Supervisors is calling upon the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to adopt a petition process to define “rural” counties as the bureau prepares to implement balloon “qualified mortgage” and escrow requirements for rural lenders.

New non-agency MBS settlements and issuance.

Profits on originations by independent mortgage banks and mortgage subsidiaries of chartered banks declined in the fourth quarter of 2012 compared with the previous quarter, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac suffered lower losses on their nonprime mortgage holdings in 2012 compared with previous years as mortgage performance has stabilized and investor demand for vintage non-agency mortgage-backed securities has increased.

Fannie Mae said Tuesday that the GSE expects to remain profitable “for the foreseeable future” after posting fourth quarter 2012 earnings of $7.6 billion and annual net income of $17.2 billion, the best quarterly and yearly showing in the company’s history.

Home loan-related consumer delinquencies, including those having to do with home equity lending, dropped across the board in the fourth quarter, the first time in a year, according to new data released Tuesday by the American Bankers Association.

Twenty state regulators adopted uniform tests for mortgage loan originators on Monday, easing compliance for MLOs doing business in multiple states. State testing has been required since 2009 due to the Secure and Fair Enforcement for Mortgage Licensing Act.

The Court of Appeals of Ohio for the Eighth District apparently has put to an end to city government lawsuits forcing banks to pay for the high costs of foreclosures, including city costs to raze or board up abandoned houses and lost taxes due to property devaluation.

The outstanding carrying value advances for the 12 Federal Home Loan Banks increased during 2012 as the demand for advances showed signs of regional stabilization and certain FHLBank members increased their use of advances, according to the recent annual report by the FHLBank Office of Finance.

The three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit overturned a lower court’s ruling from last summer which determined the FHFA was not acting as conservator but as regulator when the agency halted GSE involvement with PACE programs.