Compliance & Regulation

Edward DeMarco will step down from the Federal Housing Finance Agency nearly five years after becoming its acting director.

Federal regulators issued a proposal Monday that would establish standards for states that register and supervise appraisal management companies.

Foreclosures and home loan delinquencies dropped in February while the refinancing slowdown continued, according to a monthly report from Black Knight Financial Services.

On the surface, it seems mortgage firms must explain valuation reports to each new applicant or eliminate the use of lower-cost advanced valuation intelligence. However, there may be another option.

Lenders should avoid repeated mistakes in their process as they could be used as evidence of a fraudulent intention to originate loans without proper safeguards and underwriting processes.

Higher rates, mounting costs and the opportunity to lend to underserved borrowers have pushed some residential lenders to lower their minimum FICO scores, despite broader reluctance to take more risk in a heavily-regulated market.

Housing and lending groups are urging the government sponsored enterprise regulator and conservator to keep the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loan limits where they are for now.

A coalition of advocacy groups announced their opposition Friday to a bill by Senate Banking Committee leaders to overhaul the housing finance system, citing concerns about market access for low-income and minority families.

The former owner of a New York mortgage loan modification business was sentenced Friday to serve nine years in prison for defrauding hundreds of distressed homeowners and their lenders.

The Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corp. (AGM) plans to sell $75 million worth of preferred stock in a public offering.