Compliance & Regulation

FirstBank Mortgage Partners in Jackson, Tenn., has agreed to pay $35,000 to settle allegations that it violated the Fair Housing Act by denying a mortgage loan to an applicant on maternity leave.

Mortgage real estate investment trusts are an important source of private capital for the housing market and appear to be aligned with the mission of the Federal Home Loan Banks, according to a top advisor to Treasury Secretary Jack Lew.

Community bankers are launching a last-ditch effort to push the Senate this year to pass more than a dozen bipartisan regulatory relief bills that have already cleared the House with support from both parties.

National Credit Union Administration board member Rick Metsger said a Federal Housing Finance Agency proposal to restrict Federal Home Loan Bank membership could give banks an unfair advantage over some smaller credit unions.

PennyMac became the third largest correspondent aggregator after banks turned their back on the mortgage origination channel. With banks now increasingly shedding servicing rights, PennyMac is poised to make a similar play in servicing.

Common sense underwriting, a regulatory system that abides by contract law, and borrowers who consider homeownership a privilege, not an entitlement, make Canada perfect for private -label residential mortgage-backed securities.

Interest rate risk. Demanding regulatory and GSE standards. Shifting demographics. These are among the reasons that lenders will have a hard time balancing the call for affordable home loans with legal and market realities.

A federal judge has dismissed an attempt by the New York Bankers Association to block a New York City law requiring an evaluation of community investments made by banks holding the city's deposits.

New regulatory and investor compliance requirements have put a renewed emphasis on quality control measures. But lenders are discovering the additional costs of these efforts are outweighed by the savings from originating fewer defective loans.

The draft released by the top Financial Services Committee Democrat would remove adverse information from credit reports and require consumer data furnishers to retain records.