Compliance & Regulation

Perhaps tipping its hand on how the fair-value fight is going, a key trade group is shifting the industry's line of attack.

As the Federal Reserve Board and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency take over supervision of thrifts and their holding companies, S&Ls have grown increasingly scared about a possible crackdown on their business.

Everyone knows that short sales have gone through the roof, tripling over the last couple of years and providing more grist to the unlikely alliances of lenders and Realtors that have sprung up to handle them.

Allied Home Mortgage Capital Corp., Houston, which recently settled with HUD concerning alleged branch violations, has appointed two state managers to act as compliance auditors for the company.

Accountants at depositories may have to change the way they count loans and securities — including mortgages — that might go bad.

The Federal Housing Administration needs to provide guidance to servicers to address an increasing number of seniors who are defaulting on their federally insured reverse mortgages, according to the Department of Housing and Urban Development's Office of Inspector General.

Ben Bernanke, chairman of the Federal Reserve, discussed in an Aug. 27 speech the policies the Fed has been using to support economic recovery and price stability as well as some of the additional policy options it could consider, especially if the economic outlook were to deteriorate further.

LONG BEACH, CA-At its planned meetings with California's Congressional representatives, the California Association of Mortgage Professionals is hoping to get across its concerns about the real world impact of the financial reform bill, the group's Washington-based lobbyist said.

Although President Obama made the creation of a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau a hallmark of the financial reform law enacted July 21, his delay in nominating the agency's first director could hamper its ability to get off the ground.

WASHINGTON-The Federal Reserve's new rules on loan officer compensation are expected to force mortgage companies to review the way they conduct business and compensate their employees.