Compliance & Regulation

Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., is urging the House Committee on Oversight and Reform to investigate why regulators abruptly ended the independent foreclosure review and settled with banks last year.

A key point of contention is the 10 basis point user fee that the proposed Federal Mortgage Insurance Corp. would charge to support affordable housing efforts.

By addressing concerns about how distressed loans are resolved, banks and non-banks alike can make a virtue out of necessity and regain the trust of policy makers and the public.

A coalition of more than two dozen conservative groups sent a letter to members of the Senate Banking Committee Wednesday, urging them to vote against a major bill to overhaul the housing finance market.

Private-label residential mortgage securitizations are designed around a strict hierarchy of classes.

Brokers of servicing rights say the overall market remains robust, despite suggestions by Ocwen's William Erbey last week that trades had ground to a halt. Trading of seriously delinquent portfolios has slowed on concerns about increased liability.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is expected to change how fees are defined for a key test to determine if a loan is a "qualified mortgage," according to observers.

The Senate GSE reform bill may bloat the bureaucracy, encourage risky behavior and expose taxpayers to losses, without sufficient support for affordable housing. That could still be better than nothing.

Mortgage delinquency and foreclosure rates in March declined to levels not seen in at least six years, according to data from Black Knight Financial Services.

Regulator Benjamin Lawsky is concerned that Hubzu, a website run by Ocwen's Alitsource affiliate, charges inflated fees "through conflicted business relationships" at the expense of mortgage investors and strapped homeowners.