Compliance & Regulation

Real estate construction and development oversight appears to be one of the areas where demand for a highly specialized, preventive approach to regulatory compliance and fraud management is picking up.

PennyMac Mortgage Investment Trust and its servicing division said it disagrees with recent findings from the Georgia Department of Banking and Finance regarding its activities in the state but offered little in the way of details.

One strong current of thought since the Republicans’ impressive showing in the recent House elections has been to privatize Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. It would certainly fit in to a “less government” ethos and it’s an easy enough concept to think of.

Securities fraud class action cases tend to be rare courtroom trial experiences that have some "red flag" warnings for those who may not be on trial yet. It is even more so during a crisis.

The economic recovery should accelerate gradually throughout 2011, with the second half of the year exhibiting more growth and job creation than the early part, according to Freddie Mac chief economist Frank Nothaft.

Until recently, much of the attention surrounding so-called "put-back risk" has focused on the legal aspect, notably whether judges will require lenders to repurchase loans they sold to securitizers.

A bureau of the U.S Treasury Department may require mortgage brokers and independent mortgage banking firms to comply with the Bank Secrecy Act and set up anti-money laundering programs and file suspicious activity reports for the first time.

Though seriously wounded, the National Association of Mortgage Brokers has a lot of fight left in it.

Allied Home Mortgage Capital Corp has agreed to pay $38,000 fine for violations of branch office rules that require the corporation to pay all expenses of all branch offices. (See Mortgagee Approval Handbook 4050.1 Rev-2 ¶¶ 2-8, 2-14.B.). AHMCC also agreed to refund “improper fees” to two borrowers and “buy down the principal of one loan that was over-insured,” HUD said.

The next chairman of the House Oversight and Government Operations Committee wants to redirect nearly $30 billion committed to the Home Affordable Modification Program, using the money to help borrowers that failed at getting a loan modification.