Compliance & Regulation

What often seems to be overwhelming regulatory compliance demands will "continue to be an issue" for the foreseeable future, according to one analyst, who is recommending all credit unions have a designated compliance officer.

Amherst notes that lending standards in FHA/VA programs have remained “roughly constant” with more activity gravitating toward the two programs.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has served official notice that it is seeking comment on a range of issues—including the cost of potential litigation—and whether debt-to-income ratios should be used to determine a borrower’s “ability to repay” a residential loan.

The Treasury Department's inspector general said while the OCC focused on loan workout policies at major servicers, its supervision from 2008 through 2010 was "not sufficient in scope or application to identify significant weaknesses in national banks' foreclosure documentation and processing functions."

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency "underestimated" the risk of poor foreclosure practices at national banks and did not devote enough examination resources to identify those problems, according to the agency's chief watchdog, the U.S. Treasury's inspector general.

With all the troubling news coming out of Washington for lenders these days, the U.S. Supreme Court delivered a much-needed win to the industry last week. In Freeman v. Quicken Loans, the U.S. Supreme Court held that no cause of action existed under RESPA for a lender’s retention of a marked up fee.

Abacus Federal Savings Bank and more than a dozen of its former employees are facing criminal charges related to a scheme in which it allegedly falsified information on mortgage applications so that unqualified borrowers could secure loans.

Financial Crimes Enforcement Network director Jim Freis' departure reflects a fundamental disagreement between Treasury and Freis over the role Fincen plays and just how independent it should be.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau served official notice that it is seeking comment on a range of issues—including the cost of potential litigation—and whether debt-to-income ratios should be used to determine a borrower’s “ability to repay” a residential loan.

By a voice vote, the House of Representatives passed a 60-day extension of the flood insurance program that will keep the program running through the end of July. The bill now goes to President Obama for his signature.