Compliance & Regulation

Ohio became the first state to sue a major servicer in the growing 'Foreclosure-gate' scandal, accusing the government-owned GMAC Mortgage of misleading the courts in hundreds of foreclosure cases by filing fraudulent affidavits.

The Mortgage Bankers Association reported a net loss of $16.4 million for its fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2009, almost double the loss of the prior year, according to its tax Form 990.

With Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac now requiring that all mortgage servicers review how they handle foreclosures, more questions are being raised about the impact that potentially invalid affidavits will have on the foreclosure process, on servicers and the industry overall.

House speaker Nancy Pelosi is urging the Department of Justice to launch an investigation into the handling of delinquent mortgages, loan modifications and foreclosures by banks for possible violations of laws and regulations.

A judge in Palm Beach County, Fla., late Monday ruled that the State Attorney General's office overstepped its authority when issuing a subpoena to examine the foreclosure practices of the Shapiro & Fishman law firm.

Texas on Monday asked 27 residential servicers doing business in the state to voluntarily suspend foreclosures and to halt sales of properties already foreclosed upon, according to a published report.

Remember all those prognostications from industry experts how the Dodd-Frank bill would destroy the nonbank segment of the mortgage industry, resulting in a total takeover of residential finance by depositories?

The Federal Housing Finance Agency's proposed ban of so-called "private transfer fees" goes too far, according to a group dedicated to fostering successful community associations.

Moody's Investors Service is giving the FDIC's new "Safe Harbor" rule the thumbs-up due to the protections private-label MBS investors can rely on if the issuing bank fails.

The leading trade group for title insurers on Monday declared that despite "possible flaws" in the foreclosure process, the growing scandal will actually have little adverse impact on the new owners of REO properties, or on title insurance claims.