Compliance & Regulation

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau this week decided to delay the issuance of a final "qualified mortgage" rule until after the Nov. 6 elections. The scoop was first reported by National Mortgage News on its website Thursday. This new development has prompted many loan officers and nonbank lenders to speculate that maybe (just maybe) the CFPB will delay its compensation proposals until well into next year.

The national mortgage fraud risk index decreased 4.3% in 1Q 2012 from the previous quarter and 3.1% from a year ago.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has decided to delay the issuance of a final ‘Qualified Mortgage’ rule until after the November 6 elections, industry officials told National Mortgage News.

The housing crisis is one of the longest lasting effects of the economic recession, with home foreclosures continuing to stain our economy. As more homes enter and remain in foreclosure, the servicer (whether on its own or on behalf of the investor) is responsible for maintaining these properties per local and state regulations. And mobile apps have added a new tool servicers can use in the field.

The Deloitte Center for Financial Services says that assets controlled by the shadow banking system—including money-market mutual funds and asset- and mortgage-backed securities -have declined by more than 50% in the last four years, to $9.53 trillion at Dec. 31.

Wilshire State Bank has been released from an enforcement order that required it to boost its capital ratios and reduce its level of problem loans.

Jeremy Stein, a professor of economics at Harvard University, became the seventh governor to join the Federal Reserve Board.

Wells Fargo in an agreement that dismisses a lawsuit filed by area officials said it would provide $4.5 million worth of mortgage downpayment and home renovation assistance to certain borrowers in the Memphis region as well as put another $3 million into other local initiatives.

Back in the year 2000, when Franklin Raines held the title of chairman and chief executive officer of Fannie Mae, Rep. Richard Baker, R-La., sponsored the Housing Finance Regulatory Improvement Act. This bill not only asked for increased oversight over Fannie and Freddie but also recommended unifying the regulation of Fannie and Freddie under one roof.

Regulators’ efforts to strengthen the oversight of the shadow U.S. banking system, which plays an important role in mortgage-backed securities financing, appear to be paying off.