The federal government’s $8.5 billion settlement with 10 large banks over foreclosure abuses following the collapse of the housing market in 2008 has been portrayed by many as swift justice for aggrieved homeowners. But some regulators and consultants see the deal as a distraction from a much-needed comprehensive review of banks’ foreclosure practices, the New York Times reported. Regulators, led by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, abandoned their efforts to review some four million loans, after examining only a fraction of the foreclosures, according to former and current regulators and consultants angered over the agencies failure…. [more]

From the October issue: Remember the proposed requirement from six federal agencies that homebuyers make minimum 20 percent down payments if they want the lowest interest rates?

Remember the controversy that erupted over the plan last spring, when labor unions joined with bankers, civil rights groups, mortgage companies, realty agents and consumer advocates to get it changed? A bipartisan group of 39 senators and more than 250 Democrats and Republicans in the House even signed letters demanding that the agencies ditch the proposal on the grounds that it would be deeply harmful to a housing market mired in deep trouble.

Half a year has passed since all that bubbled up, so here’s an update on the issue: The 20 percent proposal is still alive, but it’s temporarily bogged down in agency reviews of the roughly 12,000 comments filed by interest groups and individuals. … [more]