Compliance & Regulation

When an individual participates in a closing to buy, or sell a home or refinance their mortgage, the main reason that such a complex real estate transfer can be quickly accomplished is because an independent, third-party professional has already pulled together all of the documentation necessary to close the transaction.

National mortgage fraud risk is down 2.3% from a year ago and is 1% lower than the previous quarter, but is still at an elevated risk, Interthinx said in its latest Mortgage Fraud Risk Report.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development is developing a set ofpolicy changes that would require reverse mortgage lenders to better underwrite Home Equity Conversion Mortgages. But lenders may beat HUD to the punch.

The Federal Home Loan Bank System is seeking an exemption from pending risk retention rules so they can continue to provide risk-sharing mortgage programs that they claim have exhibited "superior credit performance" for more than a decade.

State mortgage regulators should get ready for a swarm of consumer complaints against lenders this fall, a California lawyer who focuses on unfair lending practices and foreclosures warned.

The Obama administration is seeking ideas from market participants on how Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and FHA can employ bulk sales of foreclosed homes, turning these units into rentals that will help stabilize local housing markets.

Federal agents arrested four Florida men Tuesday on charges that they scammed thousands of homeowners who were seeking loan modifications, according to authorities.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency Tuesday appointed Charles Taylor to oversee the development of capital requirements for national banks.

Sand Canyon Corp., a subsidiary of H&R Block that holds the remnants of the Option One Mortgage business, will pay a $10 million settlement to Massachusetts and institute a loan modification program providing an estimated $115 million of additional relief to consumers.

Federally insured banks, thrifts and credit unions have three times as many loan officers engaged in mortgage lending as state-licensed companies, according to new figures submitted to the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and Registry.