Compliance & Regulation

The National Association of Independent Housing Professionals is giving up — for now — in its court battle against the Federal Reserve Board to block the agency's just implemented loan officer compensation rule.

Lawmakers from both political parties sharply criticized the banking regulators on Thursday for their risk-retention proposal, arguing it will lead to a credit crunch.

On April 8, FIRST AMERICAN MORTGAGE TRUST OF BROOKLINE, MASS., and the Federal Housing Administration's Mortgagee Review Board announced a settlement agreement for failing to fully verify whether borrowers could sustain their mortgage payments prior to refinancing their loans.

If Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are going to be prohibited from purchasing mortgages tied to properties with private transfer fees, then the GSEs should create a database of these "hidden fees" fees to better protect lenders and consumers, according to the Consumer Mortgage Coalition.

I have been in the real estate finance industry for over 25 years and my company has been active in the commercial mortgage-backed securities arena as an investor, lender, issuer of securities, servicer and special servicer. We’ve also been an active Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and FHA multifamily lender and servicer.

A mortgage that is more than 60 days late might seem like an automatic disqualification for inclusion into a government-backed security. However, until last week, servicers were able to pool such loans into securities backed by the Government National Mortgage Association.

Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, and Rep. Brad Miller, D-N.C., late this week introduced a comprehensive bill that would force mortgage servicers to act in the best interests of investors while pressuring them to engage in loan modifications.

The mortgage insurance industry hopes that banking regulators recognize the value of their product when finalizing their ‘qualified residential mortgage’ test -- but so far their pleas have fallen on deaf years.

Acting Comptroller of the Currency John Walsh defended bank regulators Thursday for moving forward with an enforcement action against the top 14 mortgage servicers even while several of those banks continue to negotiate with state attorneys general and other federal agencies.

The chief congressional proponent of the risk retention rule says federal regulators have gone too high in setting a 20% downpayment requirement on single-family loans that meet the "qualified residential mortgage" test.