A look at stories across HousingWire’s weekend desk…with more coverage to come on bigger issues: The amount of failed banks for the year passed 100 over the weekend. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) took receivership of seven banks last week with a combined cost to the Deposit Insurance Fund (DIF) of $468.2m. It brings the total closings in 2010 to 103 banks. At this time last year, there were 64 closings. Bank failures in 2009 took until October to pass 100. The Florida Office of Financial Regulation closed Sterling Bank over the weekend. Iberiabank, based in Louisiana, will assume all $372.4m in total deposits and agreed to purchase essentially all $407.9m in total assets. The estimated cost to the DIF is $45.5m. The Georgia Department of Banking and Finance closed Crescent Bank and Trust Company. Renasant Bank, based in Mississippi, will assume all $965.7m in total deposits, and agreed to purchase essentially all $1.01bn in total assets. The FDIC estimated the closing to cost the DIF $242.4m. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) closed Williamsburg First National Bank, based in South Carolina. First Citizens Bank and Trust Company, also based in the state, will assume all $134.3m in total deposits and agreed to purchase essentially all $139.3m in total assets. The estimated cost of the closing to the DIF is $8.8m. The Kansas Office of the State Bank Commissioner closed Thunder Bank. The Bennington State Bank in Kansas will assume all $28.5m in total deposits and agreed to purchase essentially all $32.6m in total assets. The FDIC estimated a cost of $4.5m to the DIF. The Minnesota Department of Commerce closed Community Security Bank over the weekend. Roundbank, also in Minnesota, will assume all $9.7m in total deposits and agreed to purchase essentially all $108m in total assets. The estimated cost to the DIF is $18.6m. The Nevada Financial Institutions Division closed SouthwestUSA Bank in Las Vegas. Plaza Bank, based in California, will assume all $186.7m in total deposits and agreed to purchase $137.3m of the $214m in total assets held by the failed bank. The FDIC will retain the remaining assets. The estimated cost to the DIF is $111.3m. The Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services closed Home Valley Bank over the weekend. South Valley Home & Trust will assume all $229.6m in total deposits and agreed to purchase essentially all $251.8m in total deposits. The hit to the DIF is estimated to be 37.1m. After signing financial reform last week, President Barack Obama and Congress are setting their sights on housing next. According to the legislation, the administration must propose a way to reform the housing market by the first part of next year. That includes figuring out what to do with the government-sponsored enterprises Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The Treasury Department announced over the weekend that John Walsh will succeed John Dugan as the acting comptroller of the currency. Dugan is expected to leave the OCC Aug. 14. Walsh currently serves as chief of staff and public affairs at the OCC and has been there since 2005. Freddie Mac appointed Deborah Jenkins to vice president and national head of multifamily underwriting and credit at the GSE. Jenkins will be responsible for managing the underwriting and credit approvals of all multifamily debt investments for Freddie, and she will manage that staff across the country. Before taking the new role, Jenkins was the national underwriting and quality control director in that same department, where she managed the underwriting process for multifamily loans ready for securitization. “Her experience in developing the underwriting for our multifamily loan securitization is invaluable, especially since the vast majority of our business volume is securitized,” said Mike Hay, senior vice president of multifamily at Freddie. In a quarterly survey of UK consumers conducted by Rightmove, 41% of respondents said they were confident house prices would recover in a year’s time, down 50% in Q110 from peak. The  “nervy minority” of respondents who expected prices to fall increased to 20% in the quarter, but they are still outnumbered by optimists. Rightmove asked 20,000 consumers, “Where do you think average house prices will be one year from now?“ Discrimination based on a person’s disability status continues to be the top violation of the Fair Housing Act in 2009, according to an annual report from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Of the more than 10,000 complaints registered in 2009, 44% alleged disability discrimination, 31% alleged discrimination based on race, and 20% on family status. According to HUD, the amount and type of complaints was consistent over the last two years. “Despite much progress and hard work, Americans continue to face housing discrimination because they’re in a wheelchair, are a different color, or background, or have children,” said John Trasviña, assistant secretary for fair housing and equal opportunity at HUD. Write to Jon Prior.

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