Compliance & Regulation

The chief author of legislation to roll back the Comptroller of the Currency’s powers to preempt state consumer protection laws says he doesn’t want a bureaucrat “acting” as the comptroller to approve new rules governing the preemption provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act.

A group of mortgage originators, issuers and investors is close to a consensus on a new process for enforcing representations and warranties on private-label securities.

Less than one year ago I came before this committee and testified in support of modernizing and reauthorizing the National Flood Insurance Program. Last year, NFIP lapsed three times before the Senate authorized a one-year extension. As you know, that extension expires this September.

The precedent set by the recent Bank of America MBS settlement raises concerns for smaller banks that might not be able to absorb large settlements as well.

Taylor, Bean & Whitaker's former chairman and CEO, Lee Farkas, was sentenced today 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.

Servicers for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will redo the foreclosure process on 1,250 real estate owned properties in Michigan, the result of an appeals court ruling in April that deemed Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems Inc. ineligible to use the state’s nonjudicial foreclosure process.

Ally Financial Inc. indicated in a Wednesday SEC filing that it has received subpoenas from two regulatory entities in June that included requests for documentation related to certain mortgage activities.

Bank of America Corp.'s proposed settlement of mortgage-backed securities claims against its Countrywide unit would force private-label investors in 530 Countrywide trusts to accept the bank's $8.5 billion offer, B of A officials said Wednesday.

Bank of America's pending settlement related to hundreds of billions of dollars worth of Countrywide-issued first-lien RMBS released Wednesday would include not only an $8.5 billion cash payment to trusts involved but also about $400 million of servicing changes and improvements, according to an investor law firm involved.

Add Tennessee to the long list of states that have banned private transfer fees.