Secondary

Concentrate on only four or five of these items that you think are important to your attendees and your area of the country. f these suggestions to give your

Two Justice Department lawyers leading an effort to hold financial firms accountable for the mortgage-fed debacle that fueled the Great Recession stopped in to talk strategy in mid-2009 with Jerry Brown, then California's attorney general.

San Francisco's controller discouraged lawmakers from going forward with a proposal to use the city's eminent-domain powers to help homeowners avoid foreclosure, citing federal limitations and risks to the city's borrowing costs.

Lending standards loosened slightly in January, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

One of the first housing-related items on the budget is continued support for industry regulation, in general, and the CFPB, in particular.

Standard & Poor's has agreed to pay Pennsylvania $21.5 million to settle a federal lawsuit that claimed the company defrauded investors by abandoning its role as an independent loan evaluator in the lead-up to the Great Recession.

Homeowners who refinanced their mortgages last year should have some extra coin in their pockets this year: $5 billion worth of saved interest in the first 12 months.

Mortgage rates declined, remaining at the lowest levels in more than 20 months.

The expiration of the federal Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act leaves servicers dealing with a patchwork of state laws and investor rules, while renters living in REO properties are at a greater risk of eviction.

Ocwen Financial Corp., the mortgage company that's faced attacks from regulators and bond investors, had its proficiency grades reduced by Fitch Ratings.