Compliance & Regulation

Borrowers with lower credit scores accounted for a greater share of loan volume in December 2014 than they did in December 2012, according to a sample of mortgages processed by the Ellie Mae loan origination system.

D.C. is one of the only jurisdictions in the country to guarantee tenants the right to band together and purchase a building before the landlord can offer it to an outside buyer.

Many ask whether there is any such thing as a “safe” marketing services agreement for mortgages. The answer, unequivocally, is yes.

McGraw Hill Financial Inc., the U.S. Justice Department and state attorneys general will announce a $1.4 billion settlement Tuesday over claims that Standard & Poor's inflated ratings on subprime mortgage bonds leading up to the 2008 financial crisis, according to two people with knowledge of the deal.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency will require nonbank mortgage firms to meet minimum liquidity and net worth standards to curb risks to taxpayers from the rapidly expanding industry.

The California Department of Business Oversight is accepting applications until Feb. 20 from firms or individuals with experience with the California Residential Mortgage Lending Act and California Homeowner Bill of Rights.

Two Republican legislators have suggested that affordable housing funding should be put on hold until Congress finally decides what to do about Fannie and Freddie. But why give Congress another six years to fiddle around with housing finance while the poor and homeless face a declining level of government housing assistance?

The Internal Revenue Service recently closed two audits of bonds issued in Colorado with no change to the bonds' tax-exempt statuses.

In yet another revision of its mortgage rules, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau proposed making it easier for small and rural lenders to make "qualified mortgages." Industry representatives said the changes are poised to make a big difference.

The Federal Housing Administration will make foreclosure protections available to a larger number of surviving spouses of deceased reverse mortgage borrowers.