Mississippi has cleared all the regulatory hurdles for its Katrina homeowner grant assistance program, and it will soon be sending the closing documents for the grants to the hurricane victims and their lenders, according to a Mississippi Development Authority spokesman.MDA spokesman Scott Hamilton said the closing documents will be sent to mortgage lenders that signed up to help homeowners fill out the closing documents. Over 16,000 Mississippians have applied for the grants, which are designed to cover up to $150,000 of the costs of repairing or rebuilding a home that was damaged in Hurricane Katrina last August. However, industry groups are concerned that homeowners receiving the grants are under no obligation to rebuild their homes. Lenders wanted the state to require escrow accounts to ensure that the grants are used for rebuilding. But Mississippi officials insisted on a program that gave the homeowners direct control of the funds, and the Department of Housing and Urban Development approved it.
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A federal judge in Texas dismissed the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's medical debt rule and prohibited states from passing their own laws prohibiting medical debt on credit reports.
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Dr. Mark Calabria takes on the additional role of chief statistician of the United States; retired Ally Bank executive Diane Morais has joined First Citizens Bancshares' board of directors; MainStreet Bank has promoted Alex Vari to chief financial officer; and more in this week's banking news roundup.
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While refinances are behind the latest increases, the pace of purchase activity may be a stronger indicator of where the housing market sits.
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The share of economists expecting a September rate reduction grew in the July Wolters Kluwer survey, but the October or later percentage also increased.
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Rising home prices and softening sales offer a mixed view of a market that some say is shifting to favor buyers.
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The notes are backed by home improvement installment loans originated by approved dealers in Foundation Finance Company's network.
11h ago