Compliance & Regulation

Every consumer with a 401(k), retirement account or brokerage account ought to care about whether the government has the right to unilaterally amend a company’s operating agreement.

Nearly 20 trade groups representing lenders, banks, credit unions, title companies and others are urging federal regulators to provide guidance on how they plan to enforce a new mortgage disclosure regime that goes into effect Oct. 3.

Amid growing concerns about compliance costs in title insurance, a trio of title agents has formed a consortium to help smaller firms manage their back offices more efficiently.

Walter Investment Management has reached a settlement with federal authorities over reverse-mortgage practices at a business unit.

Home Equity Conversion Mortgages have gotten a bad rap, but they're often a better alternative to home equity lines of credit for both borrowers and lenders.

Two top Justice Department and CFPB officials said this week that they are seeing more instances of redlining and lenders steering minority borrowers into higher cost loans.

About a fifth of the $163 million in credit Citi has earned under terms of the 2014 settlement would be considered extra credit. Citi can earn extra credit by doing things such as completing loan modifications early or reducing loan-to-value ratios below certain levels.

Regulators are unsympathetic to lender losses created by loan officer mistakes, but even with a close reading of compensation rules, a compliant path is still unclear.

The Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data set to be released in the next few weeks will offer new proof that mortgage lending activity was stronger than expected last year. That fresh data, the likely delay in Fed action on rates and other factors could prompt higher volume estimates for 2015.

The Federal Housing Administration is re-issuing a loan certification proposal that has sparked industry concerns that it will make it easier for the Justice Department to sue lenders when they file claims for agency-insured loans that go into default.