Compliance & Regulation

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.

You remember the HARP program, don’t you? Originally, the idea was to refinance current but high LTV Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac borrowers into new, lower-rate loans—provided they were current. Home values (and lack of equity) reeked havoc on the concept so Uncle Sam took the LTV girdle off.

Mortgage interest rates may be at historically low levels, but the housing industry is not helping the overall economic recovery in the U.S. With the secondary market all but dried up except for Freddie and Fannie, who together purchased over three-quarters of originations in 2011, getting a mortgage these days is near impossible—perfect borrowers need only apply.

Dodd Frank could be interpreted to prohibit payments to originators of upfront points and fees. Eliminating compensation on such loans would create a certain amount of havoc and disarray for lenders.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the government’s Small Business Review Panel next week will hold a private forum on its new proposal to revise the way loan officers, brokers and lenders are compensated on loan transactions.

Loan officers and brokers are none too thrilled with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s 37-page proposal on altering the way loan officers, brokers, and lenders are compensated on all mortgage transactions.

Accused of price gouging, kickbacks and borrower mistreatment, insurers QBE and Assurant sparred with the New York Financial Services Department in a Thursday hearing on force-placed insurance.