Compliance & Regulation

Freddie Mac, which along with Fannie Mae has forced home lenders to buy back tens of billions of dollars of flawed mortgages, said the companies are loosening rules that made banks more cautious about extending credit.

The Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corp. reported a decline in first-quarter profits driven largely by the early refinancing of agricultural securities.

The Senate Banking Committee will renew its markup of legislation to overhaul the housing finance system on Thursday, after abruptly postponing the deliberations late last month.

Lenders and loan officers are increasingly using social media to scout for customers, raising a host of compliance concerns, from preventing unauthorized use of brands to monitoring employee communications.

Credit card telemarketers allegedly “went off script” in describing the benefits and charges of credit protection plans to coax consumers into receiving them. The move has implications for loan officers.

The Senate Banking Committee is said to be moving toward a vote on major housing finance reform legislation next week, but the effort is likely to attract no more than 13 votes, falling short of what would be needed to advance the bill to the Senate floor this year.

Kroll Bond Rating Agency released a new monthly credit report to monitor the performance of commercial mortgage-backed securities.

Arizona has revised its education requirements while Virginia has introduced a new category of loan officer.

Six Democrats whose support is crucial to a U.S. Senate plan to replace government-owned mortgage firms Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have decided they won't support the proposal without major revisions, dimming its chances of becoming law this year.

Atare Agbamu promised his elderly clients that reverse mortgages were regulated to protect them and their spouses and heirs. Then he came across a HUD letter to lenders indicating otherwise.