A look at the stories on HousingWire’s weekend desk…with more coverage to come on bigger issues: In an op-ed piece in the Washington Post Sunday, Ben Bernanke, the chairman of the Federal Reserve, wrote that a number of proposals to restructure the financial regulatory system would degrade the Fed’s ability to oversee stability and spur future growth. The international law firm DLA Piper recently reviewed Sen. Christopher Dodd’s (D-CT) “Restoring American Financial Stability Act of 2009.” The proposal would strip power from the Federal Reserve and other regulatory bodies including the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) and create a new agency, the Financial Institutions Regulatory Administration (FIRA). Bernanke wrote that the proposals stem from anger over the government’s response to the financial crisis, but, he wrote, those actions were necessary, however unfair, to prevent a catastrophe similar to the Great Depression. He also wrote that the Fed and other regulators did not check excessive risk-taking enough leading up to the crisis, but they are fixing the problems. Bernanke added:

“Working with other agencies, we have toughened our rules and oversight. We will be requiring banks to hold more capital and liquidity and to structure compensation packages in ways that limit excessive risk-taking. We are taking more explicit account of risks to the financial system as a whole.”

Servicers participating in the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) can expect more pressure from the Obama Administration. Michael Barr, the Treasury’s assistant secretary told the New York Times that the banks were not doing a good enough job. “Some of the firms ought to be embarrassed, and they will be,” Barr said. Under HAMP, the US Treasury Department allocates capped incentives to servicers for the modification of loans on the verge of foreclosure. According to the latest report from the Treasury, more than 650,000 three-month trial modifications have been offered, and Saxon Mortgage Services leads all servicers by offering trials on 44% of its eligible portfolio. However, the amount of permanent loan modifications remains a mystery. Ocwen Financial Corp. (OCN) recently told HousingWire that it has converted 66% of its HAMP trials into permanency, which would equal a little more than 5,000 trial modifications. A spokesperson for the Treasury told HousingWire that the Treasury will begin reporting on permanent modifications in December. Over the holiday weekend, the FDIC did not report any bank closings. Commerce Bank’s closing last week marked the 124th bank failure in 2009. Housing prices in the UK grew 0.2% in October 2009, marking the third consecutive monthly increase, according to a survey from Hometrack, a housing data provider. Prices remain down 4.2% from October 2008, and demand seems to be fading from the spring and early summer as bargains dry up. However, according to the survey, the percentage of transactions that achieve the asking price stands at 92.9%, within 2% of levels prior to the credit crisis and above the 88.3% valley in February 2009. Write to Jon Prior.

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