Compliance & Regulation

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency is ordering residential servicers under its purview to stop dual tracking foreclosure proceedings and loan modifications whenever legally possible.

To quell doubts about its mortgage unit's handling of documents, Bank of America Corp. is distancing itself from…itself.B of A now says that a senior litigation manager—who had 10 years' experience working at Countrywide Home Loans Servicing LP—was out of her depth when she testified in a New Jersey courtroom about the unit's document practices.

The Federal Reserve is giving lenders two options for determining "customary and reasonable" appraisal fees and it appears many are moving toward the more pragmatic approach instead of relying on independent surveys.

Consumer attorneys and legal services groups are urging the Federal Reserve to withdraw a proposal that might "eviscerate" borrowers' rights to rescind abusive mortgages and stop foreclosures.

The two federal agencies that have a stake in regulating consumer privacy issues, the Department of Commerce and the Federal Trade Commission, are expected to issue recommendations for a privacy regulatory framework.

Fraud risk control is commonly recognized as an effective way to avoid loan buybacks.Avivah Litan, vice president and analyst at Gartner research firm, says lenders who want to remain competitive in fraud management are also aware that they “cannot continue doing business as usual.”

Three industry groups are urging the Federal Reserve Board to postpone implementation of new mortgage disclosures that are scheduled to go into effect January 30.

In an era of low interest rates, weak loan demand and unprecedented efforts by the Federal Reserve Board to pump liquidity into the economy, the demand for Federal Home Loan Bank advances has plummeted to a 10-year low, raising questions about the system's future as the government weighs a redesign of the housing finance sector.

The chair of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. warned that if left unchecked, rising government debt could rise to 185% of the country’s gross domestic product by 2035.

LEHMAN BROS., which failed in 2008 while holding bad real estate loans, on Nov. 15, filed suit against NATIONFIRST LENDING INC., an Irvine mortgage company for allegedly misrepresenting the strength of loans it sold to the Wall Street firm. The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Los Angeles, alleges that Nationsfirst Lending Inc. misrepresented the identities of borrowers, the value and condition of property securing the loans and the validity of loan documents. NATIONSFIRST is listed as a suspended corporation on the California Secretary of State website.