Compliance & Regulation

Given the Biden Administration’s regulatory emphasis on the disparate impact of mortgage lender activity on protected classes, originators need to carefully monitor their loan price concessions, according to industry speakers at the Mortgage Bankers Association's Spring Conference.

The Michigan lender agreed in 2012 to pay $133 million to resolve civil fraud charges tied to government-backed mortgages. But the deal with the Justice Department came with a catch that eventually allowed Flagstar to pay far less.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development will revive a 2013 rule that makes lenders liable for practices that were unintentionally discriminatory as well as 2015 guidelines for how local jurisdictions comply with the Fair Housing Act.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's revocation of a Trump-era policy on abusive practices could mean higher fines and penalties for violators. But it still isn't clear what makes a practice abusive.

Nonbanks claimed more of the top slots based on loan volume, while the origination gains experienced by Hispanic, Black and Native American borrowers were weaker than those of other groups.

The new rules are disproportionate particularly in light of the GSEs’ recent record of profitability, the director of the Community Home Lenders Association writes.

The 9-0 ruling markedly diminishes the threat of lawsuits involving automated calls and text messages to consumers.

“Federal Housing Finance Authority Director Mark Calabria’s decisions to date are conservative and imply a slow death for the GSEs and IMBs operating in the conventional market,” analyst Chris Whalen writes.

Securitization is a sound delivery model for any lender when combined with adequate research and preparation and it offers unique benefits, too — especially in terms of greater control and efficiencies, writes Black Knight’s managing director of pipeline analytics, James Baublitz.

The agency announced it was rescinding seven policy statements issued last year meant to help companies combat fallout from COVID-19 but that the bureau's current chief said came at the expense of consumers.