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The CFPB has posted an article with information to assist consumers decide on the right down payment amount when purchasing a new home.

FDIC FIL-7-2017, issued January 30, announced steps intended to provide regulatory relief to financial institutions and to facilitate recovery in areas of Georgia affected by severe weather.

The CFPB has posted an article with tips to help student loan borrowers tackle their debt.

The FDIC released on Friday a list of orders of administrative enforcement actions taken against banks and individuals in December. The FDIC issued a total of 29 orders, including one from November 2016, and two notices. The administrative enforcement actions in those orders consisted of five consent orders; five removal and prohibition orders; twelve Section 19 orders; four civil money penalties; two terminations of consent orders and cease and desist orders; one termination of insurance; one modification; and two notices.

• First State Bank of Illinois, Peoria, was assessed a civil money penalty of $32,500 for multiple flood insurance rules violations.
• A Camargo, Oklahoma, bank owner and his wife, a director, received a Notice of the FDIC's intention to prohibit them from further participation, intent to order restitution, and to assess penalties totaling $210,000 in connection with a complex overdraft scheme in violation of Regulation O that allegedly cost the bank $1.7 million, misappropriation of over $650,000 in bank fees, and $600,000 in unauthorized dividends from the bank.
• The EVP and Chief Banking Officer of a North Carolina bank was issued a Notice of Charges and Hearing with the FDIC's intent to prohibit him from further participation and to assess a $70,000 civil money penalty for his involvement in a fraudulent loan to a nominee borrower, the proceeds of which benefited a third party and ended with a charge-off of over $105,000.

The December 2016 Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) has reported that, nationally, interest rates on conventional purchase-money mortgages increased from November to December, according to several indices of new mortgage contracts.

• The National Average Contract Mortgage Rate for the Purchase of Previously Occupied Homes by Combined Lenders Index was 4.00 percent for loans closed in late December, up 34 basis points from 3.66 percent in November.
• The average interest rate on all mortgage loans was 3.91 percent, up 27 basis points from 3.64 in November.
• The average interest rate on conventional, 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages of $417,000 or less was 4.08 percent, up 28 basis points from 3.80 in November.
• The effective interest rate on all mortgage loans was 3.99 percent in December, up 22 basis points from 3.77 in November. The effective interest rate accounts for the addition of initial fees and charges over the life of the mortgage.
• The average loan amount for all loans was $319,100 in December, up $4,400 from $314,700 in November.

Sales of new single-family houses in December 2016 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 536,000, according to estimates released jointly yesterday by HUD and the Census Bureau. This is 10.4 percent below the revised November rate of 598,000 and is 0.4 percent below the December 2015 estimate of 538,000. The median sales price of new houses sold in December 2016 was $322,500; the average sales price was $384,000. The seasonally adjusted estimate of new houses for sale at the end of December was 259,000. This represents a supply of 5.8 months at the current sales rate. An estimated 563,000 new homes were sold in 2016, 12.2 percent more than the 2015 figure of 501,000.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development has announced agreements with two insurance companies, McGowan and Company, Fairview Park, Ohio, and Mack, Mack & Waltz Insurance Group, Deerfield Beach, Florida, settling allegations the companies violated the Fair Housing Act by denying insurance coverage to properties that include "subsidized housing" and "low-income housing." The agreements stemmed from a Secretary-Initiated complaint HUD filed after receiving reports the insurance companies’ policies and practices had a discriminatory effect based on race and national origin. Specifically, HUD’s complaint alleged that the companies refused to provide umbrella coverage, which provides additional liability coverage when an insured’s other primary policy limits have been reached, to properties containing subsidized or low-income housing.

The Federal Trade Commission will mark Tax Identity Theft Week, January 30 – February 3, with a series of events to alert consumers and businesses about ways they can minimize their risk of tax identity theft, and recover if it happens. The week will feature special events for consumers, tax professionals, small businesses and veterans. The Commission will join with the IRS, the Department of Veterans Affairs, the AARP Fraud Watch Network and others to discuss tax identity theft, IRS imposter scams, cybersecurity and identity theft recovery.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) has released its monthly House Price Index (HPI) for November 2016. U.S. house prices rose 0.5 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from October. The previously reported 0.4 percent increase in October was revised downward to a 0.3 percent increase. The FHFA monthly HPI is calculated using home sales price information from mortgages sold to, or guaranteed by, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. From November 2015 to November 2016, house prices were up 6.1 percent. The FHFA maintains an FAQ page about the index.

The Federal Trade Commission has announced the issuance of a stipulated final order resolving charges the Commission and the State of Florida brought in April 2016 against Chastity Valdes and her companies, Consumer Assistance LLC, Consumer Assistance Project Corp., and Palermo Global LLC. The defendants allegedly lured borrowers with false promises of eliminating their student loan debts and repairing their credit, and then charged illegal up-front fees; and posted positive online reviews of their services to appear as if customers wrote them.