Compliance & Regulation

A new report suggests that the credit quality of residential mortgage-backed securities will continue to improve in 2015.

In a speech last May, Edward DeMarco declared these truths to be self-evident: "Restoring Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is not the solution. They failed and their business model failed. Going backwards to an obviously failed model cannot be dressed up with some promise of higher capital or explicit rather than implicit guarantees."

If the Securities and Exchange Commission bans Standard & Poor's from rating commercial mortgage-backed securities, as it is reportedly planning to, bonds backed by a single, large asset would be hit disproportionately, according to JPMorgan.

Mortgage fraud remains a national problem as loan applications have seen misrepresentations increase on an annual basis for three consecutive years, according to LexisNexis Risk Solutions.

Lenders concerned about maintaining vendor oversight compliance may require title insurance and settlement firms to adopt the American Land Title Association's quality standards, even though the industry guidelines are only voluntary.

A recent decision by the National Labor Relations Board, drastically changes the rights of employees using company email and requires players to review and revise electronic communications policies.

Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew's decision to give more help to homeowners who have already gotten mortgage assistance has sparked opposition from Republicans aiming to end President Obama's foreclosure prevention program.

More than 1.8 million Americans have sought help keeping their homes from the National Foreclosure Mitigation Counseling Program. Hundreds of thousands more still need help, according to the program's administrator.

While evolving market conditions have made retaining servicing rights more attractive to independent mortgage bankers, making the right choice between an in-house operation or engaging with a subservicer is critical to the new business line's success.

HUD officials had taken a neutral position on whether FHA financing would be available for loans that were seized by cities and written down to their current appraised value.