Compliance & Regulation

Sen. Mark Warner, a member of the Senate Banking Committee, called on President Obama to set up a task force to examine the foreclosure paperwork issue that has stalled thousands of foreclosures and raised questions about their legality.

As the mortgage industry tries to entice private investors back into the space, lenders are looking to technology to provide data verification and analysis of the loans they're originating, according to a panel discussion at the Mortgage Bankers Association convention and expo in Atlanta.

Arguably the most outspoken, staunchly conservative member of the House Financial Services Committee, Rep. Jeb Hensarling appears eager to help shape the panel's agenda next year if the Republicans seize the House in next week's elections.

Mortgage bankers relied on MERS to be responsible for all of the documentation used in the home buying process, and as a result few in the industry looked at the paper work after the fact, said Becky Walzak, president and CEO at RJB Walzak Consulting Inc.

Residential appraisers should command higher fees now that new regulations will require lenders and appraisal management companies to pay them "customary and reasonable" compensation.

A handful of state attorneys general are taking a hard line with mortgage servicers by demanding loan modifications and principal reductions for those borrowers whose rights may have been violated by robo-signing.

An investment banking firm is warning federal regulators that a congressional mandate to stop relying on the credit ratings of Standard & Poor's and other agencies could be disruptive to the MBS market and increase capital requirements for depository institutions.

Even if the GOP gains a chamber in the upcoming federal elections, chances are the Dodd-Frank legislation will not be changed in any substantive way, according to the top lobbyist for the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Federal Housing Administration Commissioner David Stevens urged mortgage bankers to become more engaged in Obama Administration programs designed to stop the bleeding in the housing market and embrace regulatory and legislative changes to boost consumer confidence.

It's unlikely the government will release its grip on the housing market any time soon, the head of Freddie Mac told residential finance executives and vendors.