Compliance & Regulation

As federal agencies work on creating a new servicing fee structure, the Mortgage Bankers Association is recommending they consider a reserve account that would be used to pay the higher costs of servicing delinquent loans.

In a few weeks the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau officially will open its doors, but it will be "months" before the agency promulgates any new servicing regulations, according to a top official there.

Rep. Gary Miller, R-Calif., has drafted a GSE reform bill that would merge Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and convert them into a secondary market utility that issues government-backed mortgage securities.

CUMIS Insurance Society is asking a federal bankruptcy court to block an effort by a former senior loan officer of Staley CU, who filed for bankruptcy while she was on her way to prison for a mortgage fraud, to discharge $1.6 million in restitution she owes the credit union insurer.

Mortgage servicers participating in the Home Affordable Modification Program are starting to use principal reduction more often to help underwater borrowers and make their payments more affordable.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development has issued new guidance on its policies for approving and recertifying condominium projects that are eligible for Federal Housing Administration financing.

On June 20, Brett Matheson pleaded guilty in federal court to conspiracy to commit wire fraud in a $50 million mortgage fraud scheme based in Phoenix. Two others have also entered guilty pleas and are awaiting sentencing.

Taylor, Bean & Whitaker's former chairman, Lee Farkas, was sentenced last week to 30 years in prison for leading a $2.9 billion fraud scheme that brought down the top-ranked nonbank lender, and its chief warehouse backer, Colonial Bank.

ID Analytics, a consumer risk management firm, found that 16% of the nation is engaging in improper identity.

A year after "Operation Stolen Dreams" concluded tracking mortgage fraud nationwide, more than $3 billion in estimated losses resulted from this search, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.