One of the men wants to judge a cat show in New Zealand, and the other wants to travel for his real estate consulting business.

Four men have been charged with participating in the mortgage scheme that defrauded seven banks. One of the defendants, Neil Mohamed Husani, 38, remains at large.

Two defendants who have been allowed to remain free on signature bonds, written commitments to pay money if they fail to show up for court, are seeking changes to release conditions that restrict their travel to the Middle District of Florida.

Sarasota lawyer John Yanchek is “a recognized international feline judge” and breeder of Oriental Shorthairs and Somalis, according to a defense court pleading. He is scheduled to judge at the Karnak National Festival of the Cat on Saturday.

A federal prosecutor filed a response opposing Yanchek’s being allowed to travel, saying the cat show “is hardly a compelling reason.”

“Once outside the jurisdiction of the Court, the defendant will have little or no incentive to return,” wrote Assistant U.S. Attorney Terry Zitek in his response. “The only collateral attached to the bond is the defendant’s wife’s signature.”

Another defendant, Larry P. Nardelli, 49, of Tampa, filed an emergency motion Monday asking to be allowed to travel to Dallas, Los Angeles, New York, Las Vegas and/or the Bahamas.

According to the court pleading, he is self-employed as a financial consultant who arranges financing for real estate development projects. Nardelli needs to attend conferences with clients, wrote his attorney, Daniel Castillo.

Contacted for comment about the motion, Castillo noted his client is presumed innocent. “He hasn’t been convicted of anything yet,” Castillo said. “The man has to travel for business. That’s the end of it.”

Castillo declined to name Nardelli’s real estate clients or say whether they know he is under indictment on mortgage fraud charges.

Also arrested and charged in the multimillion-dollar scheme was Michael A. Tringali, 46, of Sarasota.

According to a 44-page indictment handed up in July, between May 2004 and June 2006, the four defrauded Orion Bank, Mercantile Bank, Bank Atlantic, Coast Bank, Fifth Third Bank, Wachovia Bank and First State Bank.

The indictment said the defendants agreed to purchase commercial real estate properties, intending to simultaneously resell the properties to other conspirators at a substantially higher price.

Reporter Elaine Silvestrini can be reached at (813) 259-7837 or esilvestrini@tampatrib.com.

According to federal regulatory filings, the five corporates showing big mortgage-related losses are U.S. Central Federal Credit Union, Western Corporate Federal Credit Union, Members United Corporate Federal Credit Union, Southwest Corporate Federal Credit Union, and Constitution Corporate Federal Credit Union, the Journal said.

The filings indicate that the credit unions — cooperative financial institutions — have together reported about $5.7 billion in “unrealized” losses as of the end of May, the paper said.

The Journal quoted the National Credit Union Administration, the federal regulator overseeing credit unions, as saying that the losses were likely to be reversed when mortgage markets stabilize, and that the institutions were sound and adequately capitalized.

However, some outside observers are concerned that the credit unions were underestimating the depth of their mortgage-market problems, the WSJ said.

(Reporting by Tenzin Pema; Editing by Louise Ireland)

Sutton, a former Newton County sheriff, said lenders should be required to consider insurance costs and property taxes when determining whether a prospective borrower can afford a home loan. He also wants Indiana to prohibit penalties that make it difficult for home buyers to refinance risky subprime mortgages.

“As Newton County’s sheriff, it was my job to conduct sheriff’s sales,” Sutton said, referring to auctions of foreclosed homes. “I’ve seen the pains of foreclosures: court orders evicting people from their homes, families losing their farms, the stress placed on those trying to save their home. Plus, the foreclosure’s effect spills over to the entire neighborhood and community. Surrounding homes suffer a decrease in price because nobody wants a boarded up home on their street.”

Sutton is making a second bid to unseat state Rep. Don Lehe, a Brookston Republican to whom he lost by 27 votes in 2006. House District 15 covers parts of Dyer, Lowell, Schererville and St. John in south Lake County, and all or most of Benton, Newton and White counties.

Lehe, a three-term legislator, noted that he supported recent legislative efforts to reform the troubled home loan industry, including a 2007 law that strengthened state licensing of mortgage brokers. Last week, Indiana revoked the licenses of 361 brokers who failed to comply with the new requirements.

Lehe also said voters continue to tell him their top concern is controlling government spending, which he said doesn’t match up with Sutton’s record as sheriff.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Commercial Mortgage Securities Association, which represents buyers and sellers of investments backed by commercial real estate loans, spent $100,000 to lobby in the second quarter, according to a recent disclosure form.
The New York-based trade group lobbied on accounting and tax issues, reform of credit rating agencies, financial system regulation, mortgage-related securities, terrorism and flood insurance, according to a July 18 filing with the House clerk’s office.

Commercial real estate groups, along with hedge funds and private equity interests, have lobbied against efforts to raise taxes on profits by investment partnerships to as much as 35 percent from 15 percent. They contend such an increase would weaken real estate markets nationwide, while supporters say it is unfair for real estate and private equity partnerships to pay a lower rate than other companies.

The association’s nearly 400 members include BlackRock Inc., Wachovia Corp. and UBS AG.

Besides lawmakers, the Commercial Mortgage Securities Association lobbied the Treasury Department, Securities and Exchange Commission, Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., Federal Reserve and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.

The group initially faced mortgage-scam related charges in February.

Kandace Marriott, 52, and Darrell L. Marriott, 55, of Gun Barrel City in Henderson County, as well as their unindicted daughter, Kally Marriott, 22, of Dallas County, were arrested at their residences, according to a release from Mr. Abbott’s office. They are being held on $5 million bond each in Kaufman County.

Another defendant indicted in February, Karen Hayes, 57, of Kemp in Kaufman County surrendered to authorities Thursday and is also under $5 million bond.

According to the charges, the group forged signatures to create false home applications and operated a business in Kaufman County called Torenia Inc., doing business as Energy Homes.

Their scheme, according to the indictments, defrauded taxpayers of more than $3 million because they applied for government-backed home loans.

Omotayo Fawole, who operated in south-east London, was the second broker to be fined by the Financial Services Authority this year.

The fine was imposed as the FSA is toughening up its oversight of the mortgage broking industry. Last month it called on more lenders to help stamp out fraud by reporting suspicious applications.

Margaret Cole, the regulator’s director of enforcement, said on Monday that the size of the fine was aimed at deterring other fraudsters. “We will continue to make examples of people who commit mortgage fraud until behaviour changes,” she said. “Perpetrators of fraud will find themselves facing bans and significant fines, as well as action by the police or other agencies aimed at confiscation of assets.”

The watchdog has already banned 17 brokers in addition to Mr Fawole this year, compared with a total of six in the whole of last year and just two the year before that.

It is also considering whether to bring the industry under the same official checks as investment advisers who work with more complex long-term products such as pensions. Mortgage brokers do not need to be approved, though Mr Fawole was, because he managed the firm.

The FSA found two instances in which Mr Fawole had considerably overstated earnings and profits in mortgage applications, one of which related to him and the other to an employee.

The FSA is developing a mortgage fraud database to look at patterns of mortgage fraud and to help it better target its investigations. It has already streamlined its investigations into frauds, which now take between three and six months to complete.

Investigations tend to begin by comparing tax filings to applications. Much of the evidence against Mr Fawole came from his tax filings, which showed markedly lower income than his mortgage applications.

Last month, the regulator banned Sadia Nasir, a broker operating in Essex, and fined her £100,000 for submitting false applications and falsifying documents such as payslips and financial statements.

In four cases, she used her own banking details on applications for clients. The FSA also added a further £29,000 demand to claw back illicit profits.

The tough stance fits with the regulator’s aim of stepping up its enforcement activities. Ms Cole, a former litigation partner at a top City law firm, has said she intends to develop a steady stream of cases.

What should you do in such a situation? Here are a few things that every home loan borrower must remember now that home loan rates are expected to increase further.

1. Is it worth switching from a floating to a fixed rate home loan now?

Switching your current floating home loan to fixed home loan is not advisable as there are not many banks that offer genuine fixed rate loans anyway. Once the interest rate is fixed on genuine fixed rate home loans the banks from which you borrow cannot change the rate of interest.

Fixed home loans are not available for less than 14 per cent rate of interest today and also, the borrower has to pay a fee for changing from ‘floating’ to ‘fixed’ home loan rates which is 1.5 per cent to 2 per cent of the outstanding loan amount. This means that the equated monthly installments (EMIs) will go up immediately.

2. Are fixed rate home loans really fixed?

Now ideally as it should be, we assume that once you select fixed rate plan for your home loan the rate of interest will remain unchanged over the entire tenure of the repayment period irrespective of any subsequent increase in the same. But actually this is not the case.

All banks include the reset clause on fixed interest rate in their loan agreement. So if you have taken a loan @ 10.5 per cent for 15 years it does not mean the same rate will be applicable through the tenure of your loan.

Banks have introduced a clause according to which they have the right to revise the fixed rate home loan after two years or five years of disbursing the loan. This clause is called the Force Majeure Clause.

The statement included in the loan agreement will say:

Provided further that from time to time, the bank may in its sole discretion alter the rate of interest suitably and prospectively on account of change in the internal policies of the bank or if unforeseen or extraordinary changes in the money market conditions take place during the period of the agreement.

Don’t let yourself to be misled by the term ‘fixed rate’. For that reason, it is significantly important to go through the contents of your home loan agreement meticulously. Most of us see the home loan agreement as a mere formality. Well! This can be the biggest pitfall.

It is a contract twisted towards the lenders through different legal clauses presented in fine quality paper. You should not take things for granted. Always ask the lender bank to make you understand the agreement before you sign it. Also, ensure to bring these uneven and twisted clauses to the notice of your housing finance company and suggest the changes you need in co-operation with the lender bank.

3. What about shifting to other lenders offering a lower floating rate?

This can be a good idea especially if another lender is offering a floating rate which is at least 0.5 per cent or 0.75 per cent lower than what has been offered by your existing lender, and, more importantly, with the balance tenure of not less than 7-8 years.

There are banks that charge high rate of interest from existing customers and low rate from new customers. Therefore, shop around the market and get informed regarding the same to avail the best deal.

4. What forces banks to increase EMIs on existing home loans?

The rising interest rates in the country today has brought this debt trap to your household. In the past few years, the floating interest rates on home loans have shot up to 12 per cent from 7.5-8 per cent.

Rate of interest and principal are two basic components involved while calculating EMI payment for any loan. In the first few years of your loan repayment tenure, a major part of the amount goes in paying up the interest. The trend reverses after a few years — after you have paid much of the interest — and the principal repayment increases.

Today, when home loan interest rates are high everywhere, banks have to increase tenure up to a certain point. If the interest rate continues to go up, the EMI you pay fails to cover the loan amount.

Moreover, increasing the time period is not seen as a solution to cope up with the rising interest rates. Hence, banks are forced to increase the amount of EMI.

5. What are the options to reduce the EMIs?

If you have extra money, it is recommended that you pay a part of your loan to keep the EMI at the same level. Since most banks do not charge part pre-payment penalty, it can be an excellent option.

In case you find the increase in EMI unfeasible, you should check whether your bank is ready to increase the loan tenure while keeping the EMI at the same level.

However, banks generally do not increase the tenure beyond the retirement age which is 60 years for salaried people and 65 years for self-employed.

6. Is it the right time to buy a home?

Interest rates are likely to go up further, which could affect demand, putting property prices under pressure. However, if you want to buy a house for your own use, this could be a good time.

The value of borrowed amount is depreciating (decreasing in value) because of inflation. If the value of the property you are buying does not depreciate, your investment will give you handsome return. Of course, that is a big IF.

2008 Second Quarter Operating Highlights

As of June 30, 2008, the Bank had total assets of $193.2 billion, an increase of $4.3 billion, or 2.28 percent, from December 31, 2007. This increase was primarily a result of increases in trading securities, held-to-maturity securities and advances, partially offset by a decrease in federal funds sold. Advances, the largest asset on the Bank’s balance sheet, increased by $2.2 billion, or 1.52 percent, during this same period.
The Bank’s net income for the second quarter of 2008 totaled $108.7 million, an increase of 16.6 percent from $93.2 million for the second quarter of 2007. The increase in net income was due to an increase in net interest income, resulting from higher average advances and mortgage-backed securities balances during the period and an increase in interest rate spread.

The 2008 second quarter performance resulted in an annualized return on equity (ROE) of 5.13 percent for the Bank as compared to the 6.05 percent for the second quarter of 2007. The ROE spread to three-month average LIBOR improved between the periods, equaling 2.38 percent for the second quarter of 2008 as compared to 0.69 percent for the second quarter of 2007.

For the three months ended June 30, 2008, the Bank distributed $114.3 million of earnings to members as a return on their capital investment in the Bank, representing an annualized dividend rate of 5.57 percent, as compared to 6.0 percent for each of the previous two quarters. The Bank’s retained earnings balance was $465.3 million as of June 30, 2008.

The Bank filed its full financial report on Form 10-Q on Monday, August 11, 2008.

On July 30, 2008, the President of the United States signed into law the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008, H.R. 3221 (the “Housing Act”). The Housing Act abolishes the Federal Housing Finance Board and the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (each, one year after the date of enactment) and establishes the Federal Housing Finance Agency as the single regulator of the Federal Home Loan Banks, Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac.

“The Bank has performed well through its second quarter, and intends to continue as a reliable source of wholesale funding,” said Richard A. Dorfman, the Bank’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “We look forward to working closely with the newly established regulator to ensure the continued strength of the Bank.”

About the Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta

The Bank is a cooperative financial services organization that provides funding, community development grants, and other banking services to more than 1,200 member financial institutions in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and the District of Columbia. The Bank is one of 12 district banks in the Federal Home Loan Bank System (the FHLB System), which since 1990 has contributed more than $2 billion to affordable housing development in the United States.

Some of the statements made in this announcement, including, without limitation, those statements that relate to the Bank’s funding plans and returns, are “forward-looking statements,” which include statements with respect to the Bank’s beliefs, plans, objectives, goals, expectations, anticipations, assumptions, estimates, intentions, and future performance, and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, many of which may be beyond the Bank’s control, and which may cause the Bank’s actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from the future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements.

The forward-looking statements may not be realized due to a variety of factors, including, without limitation: legislative and regulatory actions or changes; future economic and market conditions; changes in demand for advances or consolidated obligations of the Bank and/or the FHLB System; changes in interest rates; political, national and world events; and adverse developments or events affecting or involving other Federal Home Loan Banks or the FHLB System in general. Additional factors that might cause the Bank’s results to differ from these forward-looking statements are provided in detail in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which are available at www.sec.gov.

You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, since the statements speak only as of the date that they are made. The Bank has no obligation and does not undertake to publicly update, revise or correct any of the forward-looking statements after the date of this announcement, or after the respective dates on which such statements otherwise are made, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required by law.

The Missouri Child Care Resource & Referral Network said Bright Beginnings will receive the loan of up to $114,600 and a $5,000 grant through the Quality First program. Loans and grants became available in April through First Children’s Finance-Missouri, a low-interest lender for child care.

Quality First is available to licensed child care programs striving to achieve higher standards, such as accreditation. Bright Beginnings director Jennifer Akins plans to have the new center accredited, but will have to operate the facility for one year before she can apply.

The facility may open in early to mid-October. It is slated to become the first licensed child care center in Albany in the past 15 years. A waiting list has begun for 2009.

The network provides training, technical assistance and other supports to child care businesses that seek to improve quality. It is financed by federal and state funds. The YWCA of St. Joseph provides resources and referrals to families in the region.

More flood aid sought

President Bush has been asked to consider expanding a major disaster declaration to include six Northwest Missouri counties that received damage in July’s floods and severe storms.

An incident period for an earlier round of storms closed July 18. Disaster declarations are being sought for both individual and public forms of assistance.

Harrison and Livingston counties are on the request list for individual assistance. They are joined by Gentry, Grundy, Mercer and Worth counties on the public assistance list.

Ray Scherer can be reached

The city’s Department of Community Services has increased the maximum limit of its Housing Rehabilitation Loan program from $80,000 to $150,000.

The loans allow homeowners to make home repairs, accessibility improvements, and address health and safety issues, according to the city. Income-qualified owner-occupant applicants may obtain interest-free loans and may partially defer repayments for the 15-year term of the loan.

“We urge qualified homeowners to seriously consider tapping into this important program to ensure their homes are safe and comfortable as they grow older,” Mayor Mufi Hannemann said in a news release.

Surveys indicate that most older adults would prefer to live at home, “aging in place” as opposed to moving to an institution, according to the city.

The loans will help pay for home upgrades including installation of grab bars, widened doorways, non-skid floors and proper lighting.

Funds for the loan program are made available through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Community Development Block Grant program.

Anyone interested in applying for or learning more about the city’s Rehabilitation Loan Program can call the Downtown office at 768-7076 or the Kapolei Hale office at 768-3240.

The Community Development Block Grant program provides communities with resources to address a wide range of community development needs, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.