Compliance & Regulation

A downpayment remains a high hurdle for consumers seeking mortgages. Lowering this hurdle increasingly seems in line with industry and regulatory goals—assuming borrowers don't default. There's the rub.

A new trade group is making an effort to educate veterans about the lesser-known, low-downpayment, government-backed loan program, while the Department of Veterans Affairs works to clarify rules and recruit appraisers.

The Massachusetts attorney general's lawsuit against Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac seeks to aid a nonprofit whose CEO has close political ties to Martha Coakley's gubernatorial campaign.

Though the bulk of the ambitious Housing New York plan is intended to build or rehabilitate rentals, there are several homeownership components as well.

Wells Fargo failed to convince a U.S. appeals court that a multibank mortgage settlement in 2012 barred the government from suing over home lending practices it claims led to hundreds of millions of dollars in federal insurance payouts.

The House approved a bill Monday evening to modify the calculation of certain "points and fees" under the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s qualified mortgage rule.

By obtaining a third-party opinion that provides a reasoned analysis supporting borrowers' ability to repay, a lender places itself in a substantially stronger position with respect to subsequent ATR claims.

Citigroup, one of three mortgage lenders sued last year by Los Angeles for allegedly targeting minorities with "predatory" loans, lost its first attempt to dismiss the claims.

Lenders are seeking fixes to a proposal by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau that would allow institutions to repay points and fees that inadvertently exceeded the "qualified mortgage" rule.

A reported $12 billion settlement with federal and state authorities could force Bank of America to take a charge eating up most of its second-quarter profits. After that, the bank may finally get to move on.