Compliance & Regulation

The House of Representatives approved a continuing funding resolution early Thursday morning that extends the $729,750 maximum loan limit for Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Federal Housing Administration single-family loans until Sept. 30, 2011.

The document processing problems plaguing the mortgage servicing industry could cause some foreclosures to take up to 10 years, according to Mark Zandi, chief economist for Moody's.com.

Due to growing concerns raised by the GMAC foreclosure scandal, Fitch Ratings believes loss severities on residential MBS could worsen, and is warning servicers to double-check how they foreclose on troubled loans.

With loan brokers afraid of getting squeezed by new compensation rules, one industry consultant sees a way they can collect reasonable origination fees and stay competitive: by getting borrowers to pay them directly.

The Treasury Department singled out the three largest banks — Bank of America Corp., JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Wells Fargo & Co. — for failing to properly solicit and consider homeowners for the government's loan modification program.

Besides imposing a 5% risk retention requirement on securitizations by banks, the FDIC also spelled out new standards that are particularly tough and aimed solely at issuers of residential mortgage-backed securities.

Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal has asked Ally Financial to freeze all home foreclosures within its borders, saying his office is investigating "defective" documents filed by the company and its mortgage division, GMAC.

Grapevine visitors discuss a specific situation where a borrower has a foreclosure due to going through a divorce. Find out what advice readers have to give to this banker.

Federal regulators implicitly rebutted the view that banks are refusing to take losses on second mortgages that are current but at risk of default.

A replacement for the Home Valuation Code of Conduct is coming soon and the Federal Reserve Board is also working on new rules for ensuring lenders and others don’t exert undue influence on the appraisal process.