Compliance & Regulation

The Federal Housing Finance Agency may face legislation or a lawsuit in the near future as it tries to force captive insurance companies to exit the Federal Home Loan Bank System.

Credit unions' share of the mortgage origination market has climbed steadily since the financial crisis. The sector expects to build on that momentum in 2016, even as significant headwinds loom.

Ocwen Financial Corp. will pay $2 million to settle charges that it misstated its financial results in valuing complex mortgage assets, said the Securities and Exchange Commission.

It took an average of 49 days to close a residential mortgage loan in December, a week longer than it took one year prior, according to Ellie Mae. This was unchanged from November.

Overlapping missions and jurisdictions are fueling competition between the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Federal Trade Commission, according to former officials at both agencies.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc.'s fourth-quarter net income dropped 65% because of the costs to settle a mortgage probe.

Credit Plus in Salisbury, Md., has introduced loan repurchase insurance for mortgage lenders and servicers that use its verification products.

In one corner are groups like the Community Home Lenders Association and the major credit union groups, which are hoping the administration will further cut premiums after a reduction a year ago. On the other are MBA and ICBA, which argue a cut now would be too soon.

Agency and government loan programs will be a little different in the next 12 months. There also will be new rules for private-label securitizations, along with new products available to investors. Here is an overview.

Mortgage real estate investment trusts will be hurt modestly in the long run, now that they have been excluded from membership in the Federal Home Loan Bank System, according to Fitch Ratings.