Compliance & Regulation

The Obama administration has gained plaudits from even conservative critics by calling for the dismantling of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. But a growing number of observers are arguing that one of the Treasury Department's proposed replacements is effectively the same system by another name.

The Federal Court of the Eastern District of North Carolina sentenced Lynda Steele to serve 41 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release for committing real estate fraud in Cumberland County.

A former Austin, Texas, businessman has been indicted by a federal grand jury in connection with a Ponzi scheme that victimized more than 300 individuals and resulted in a total estimated loss to investors of $41 million.

The Georgia Department of Banking and Finance finalized a cease and desist order on Feb. 25 against the mortgage lending company Mortgage Direct Inc.

Juan Rangel, Downey, Calif., has been sentenced to 22 years in Federal prison for running two fraud schemes—a Ponzi scheme that took in at least $30 million from more than 500 victims, and a mortgage fraud scheme that preyed on working-class homeowners by stealing the equity from their homes and secretly taking title to their properties.

Big banks and Washington aren't on the same page—again.

Unless Congress comes up with some fresh cash by midnight Friday, the federal government will shut down — and along with it the Federal Housing Administration and its popular mortgage insurance programs. And an apparent deal to extend government operations would only kick the can down the road for another two weeks.

Government funding for Native American housing continues on its seesaw. While President Obama’s 2012 budget calls for an all-time high of $700 million for the Indian Housing Block Grant, the continuing resolution for fiscal 2011 has been slashed to $500 million.

Come April 1, the Federal Reserve Board is raising the threshold that triggers mandatory escrow accounts for jumbo loans.

The Obama Administration is willing to start the process of winding down Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, but it must be done gradually over as many as five to seven years to prevent disruptions to the mortgage market and the economic recovery, according to a high ranking Treasury Department official.