Compliance & Regulation

The former treasurer of Taylor, Bean & Whitaker, Ocala, Fla., pleaded guilty to criminal charges involving her role in selling "fictitious" mortgages to Colonial Bank, contributing to that institution's failure.

Marvin Bower, the great managing partner of McKinsey & Co. in the 1950s, offered this advice: Direct every action toward building a stronger position for the long term, but take the action now. I think we can apply this advice to addressing the government-sponsored enterprises, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and the huge distortions and losses they have caused.

Michael McGrath, the disgraced former president of U.S. Mortgage Corp. and its CU National Mortgage unit, was sentenced late Thursday to 14 years behind bars for a massive fraud in which he sold $140 million of CU mortgages his company was servicing to Fannie Mae and kept the proceeds.

Freddie Mac late Thursday said Donald J. Bisenius, executive vice president of its single-family credit guarantee business, received a 'Wells Notice,' which means the Securities and Exchange Commission is considering filing civil charges against him.

WASHINGTON — Bank regulators, law enforcement and various other federal and state officials continue to negotiate the proper punishment for more than a dozen large servicers that have mistreated mortgage borrowers.

In a new letter industry trade groups are urging the Federal Reserve to reject a recent staff interpretation regarding its loan officer compensation rule that would restrict payments between mortgage companies and "affiliated" real estate brokerages and title agencies.

WASHINGTON — Lawmakers laid out a series of ambitious deadlines in the Dodd-Frank Act, requiring regulators to complete roughly 170 new rules by July.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency Wednesday morning laid out its options for restructuring mortgage servicing compensation, including the possibility of eliminating the 25 basis point minimum paid on performing loans.

Quicken Loans Inc., one of the top mortgage lenders in the country, is currently defending its 25-year reputation regarding the company’s business strategies in a federal court case in Detroit.

Despite the national fraud risk index remaining flat from both the previous quarter and last year, increases in localized ZIP codes can affect the ranking of a state, according to the latest Mortgage Fraud Risk Report developed by Interthinx.