Compliance & Regulation

Loan defects and misrepresentation are occurring at the lowest levels in recent history thanks to the refinance boom spurred by low interest rates and better loan manufacturing processes.

Regulatory infighting over bond loans offered by down payment assistance programs has the potential to curtail lending to first-time buyers and do real damage to homeownership.

In just a few years, a popular mall with high-end anchor stores and boutique retail tenants can fall into substandard property condition, leaving commercial mortgage bond investors with outsized losses on their exposure to these properties.

Many lenders are still reluctant to give mortgages to borrowers with less-than-pristine credit, yet such loans are far more likely than prime jumbo loans to be bundled into collateral bonds. Sreeni Prabhu of Angel Oak Capital credits banks' behavior and higher interest rates for that reality.

Ocwen Financial Corp.'s loan servicing subsidiary has reached a settlement with the Washington State Department of Financial Institutions' consumer services division over the servicer's practice of using unlicensed offshore companies.

Equifax and TransUnion have stopped selling traditional credit reports, forcing lenders to buy their new, more expensive "trended" data reports that mortgage investors aren't using yet.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency announced the extension of the Home Affordable Refinancing Program through September 2017 as well as the creation of a new program for those with high loan-to-value ratios.

A long-running dispute between the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the agency's Office of Inspector General over down payment assistance programs is beginning to have an impact on lenders.

The national credit union trade associations have joined with unlikely partners as co-signers on a letter that calls out the Department of Housing and Urban Development over lending issues.

The Los Angeles City Council joined Los Angeles County in trying to get California Gov. Jerry Brown to declare a state of emergency for the problem of homelessness.