Compliance & Regulation

The Pennsylvania Department of Banking’s Bureau of Compliance, Investigation and Licensing has cracked down on illegal activity within the state in 2Q 2011 compared to the previous quarter.

Almost three years have passed since the mortgage meltdown and we continue to witness the fallout daily. Lawsuits are emerging against banks and their executives for, among other things, failure to institute effective risk management procedures, failure to implement sound quality control programs and failure to practice good judgment.

Mortgage industry groups are calling for the creation of a strong safe harbor clause that will shield lenders from litigation if they originate loans that comply with ‘Qualified Mortgage’ underwriting standards.

On June 4, a San Francisco judge (U.S. District Court Judge William Alsup) told Securities and Exchange Commission attorneys that the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act will not be applied retroactively and thereupon dismissed a couple of Securities and Exchange Commission claims against former financial executives.

Loan origination system provider Wipro Gallagher Solutions has integrated the settlement services pricing data of Ernst Publishing, providing lenders technology to help accurately complete Good Faith Estimate and HUD-1 disclosures.

Some federally-regulated depositories are in danger of missing a July 29 deadline to be registered in the National Mortgage License System and Registry, exposing themselves to possible sanctions from regulators.

Harried lenders that have not already identified imminent compliance needs related to the massive Dodd-Frank Act’s largely neglected “whistleblower” and fair lending requirements can do so more simply and cost-effectively than they may think, according to one legal expert.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau began operations last week, as required by the Dodd-Frank Act, but there were few celebrations. Instead, the House of Representatives voted on a bill to restructure the agency while Senate Republicans moved to block confirmation of its first director.

The House of Representatives late Thursday passed a bill to convert the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau into a five-member commission, giving Congress more leeway over how the new agency operates.

Short sale timelines and completions are improving, but servicing executives also know their industry can have better results in the government-backed Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives program, according to panelists at this week’s Best Practices in Loss Mitigation Conference in Dallas, sponsored by National Mortgage News.