Compliance & Regulation

The House Financial Services Committee approved a bill that would delay the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's enforcement of the new TILA-RESPA integrated disclosure rules. It also approved two additional bills addressing the qualified mortgage rule and GSE executive compensation.

Regulators have given the merger between CIT Group and OneWest Bank the green light — so long as CIT comes up with a revised Community Reinvestment Act plan. This condition is good news for the low-income communities impacted by the merger and sets a strong precedent for regulators' review of future bank deals.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency is still not producing enough adequately-trained examiners necessary to monitor Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, according to an inspector general report.

The Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program is renewing calls for further investigation of servicers it claims may be denying too many Home Affordable Modification Program applications.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is charging two companies affiliated with Western Union and Fidelity National Financial more than $38 million in total charges for allegedly steering consumers into a mortgage payment program that cost them millions of dollars in fees.

The Conference of State Bank Supervisors recently challenged college students to examine how community banks survived the financial crisis, and the contest highlighted innovative strategies used by Main Street banks such as Bank of American Fork in Utah.

For servicers seeking to differentiate themselves with mortgage investors, the ability to quickly resolve a delinquent loan has taken a backseat to demonstrating a strict adherence to the swath of new compliance requirements that have transformed the industry.

The government-sponsored enterprises are buying conforming mortgages with as little as 3% down, but the new policy can't improve the housing market by itself.

Signs of optimism are growing for acquisition, development and construction loans as banks hone strategies in a market transformed by the crisis.

The range of loan products offered by mortgage lenders and investors has been narrow since the housing crisis, but a few underserved niches are starting to make a comeback.