Compliance & Regulation

Nearly 165,000 borrowers have filed requests for reviews on how their servicer treated them in foreclosure—to see if they are entitled to damages—according to new figures released by the OCC.

Frederic Gladle pleaded guilty in January to one count of bankruptcy fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft for charging distressed homeowners fees in exchange for fraudulently delaying foreclosure sales.

It seems clear that changes made to the HARP program late last year have spurred a strong wave of usage that the industry didn’t anticipate. It doesn’t matter, of course: mortgage bankers are now writing new HARP loans left and right and competition is picking up thanks to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac upgrading their AU systems.

Documenting and verifying a borrower’s income is one of the most basic tasks for an underwriter. While this appears to be relatively simple, validating income has become increasingly complex and susceptible to borrower fraud.

At least 25 community banks and thrifts have announced in recent weeks that they would stop filing financial reports with the Securities and Exchange Commission in response to a new law aimed at reducing red tape for small companies.

Looking to expand its risk, fraud and compliance management offerings, FIS recently acquired ICS Risk Advisors and Memento. Terms of the deal were not announced.

New York's Department of Financial Services hammered banks over their relationships with force-placed insurers in a Friday hearing, challenging JPMorgan Chase officials on lucrative reinsurance arrangements that the Department suggested are tantamount to kickbacks.

The National Credit Union Administration has barred the former CEOs of U.S. Central FCU and Members United Corporate FCU from working for, or with any corporate credit union for their roles in two of the biggest credit union failures.

Efforts to bring back a private-label residential mortgage-backed securities market have not been quick, nor—dare I say—wholly successful at this point.

The National Flood Insurance Program is due to expire at the end of this month and the Senate still can’t seem to find a way to pass a short-term extension or move ahead with a comprehensive reform bill that re-authorizes the program for five years.