Compliance & Regulation

In a letter sent to Ohio judges, the state’s Attorney General Richard Cordray has requested that its courts continue to pay close attention to foreclosure cases that may have affidavits signed by so-called robo-signers and highlighted several Common Pleas courts that have taken action to address the situation.

The fight to prevent and end homelessness is waged and won at the local level. And 2010 has been a watershed year in that fight. As always, this Mayors Survey report is not only helping us understand the state of homelessness in our communities, but also how they are responding.

Industry vendor Kroll Factual Data, Loveland, Colo., said it has started a new technology-based service aimed at helping clients comply with fair credit reporting risk-based pricing regulations that take effect Jan. 1, 2011.

The administration has quietly shifted most federal high-risk mortgage initiatives to the government’s original subprime lender.It is hard to believe, but it looks like the government will soon use the taxpayers’ checkbook again to create a vast market for mortgages with low or no down payments and for overstretched borrowers with blemished credit.

The high upfront fees Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac charge on certain single-family loans still do not "fully cover" all the costs and risks associated with those loan guarantees, according to Federal Housing Finance Agency acting director Edward DeMarco.

Taxpayers claiming certain deductions, including mortgage interest deductions, will need to wait until possibly mid- to late February to claim them in order to allow the IRS to adjust its processing systems to handle recent legal changes.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has expelled APS Financial Corp., Austin, Texas, and barred its former president and its former broker from the industry in connection with an alleged scheme involving an elderly investor and markups on collateralized mortgage obligations as well as other types of securities.

Allstate Insurance Co. has sued Bank of America to recoup losses suffered from its purchase of over $700 million in Countrywide-issued mortgage-backed securities.

Ally Financial Inc. has agreed to pay Fannie Mae $462 million to settle repurchase demands for breaches of representations and warranties related to whole loans and private-label securities the lender sold the GSE.

Just three years ago, the very idea of a consumer protection agency was dismissed by most bankers and industry representatives as a pipe dream.