Compliance & Regulation

Is the mortgage industry in the throes of what might turn out to be a lengthy and profitable recovery? Let’s look at the signs: Fannie Mae just posted a hefty profit, Freddie Mac has earned money on an operating basis for at least two quarters in a row, many lenders are enjoying strong profit margins and the HARP program appears to be humming along. Optimists might have reason to pop some champagne.

House Republicans are wading back into the debate over whether to allow principal reductions on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgages.

The discussion in a number of panel sessions at the Mortgage Bankers Association National Secondary Market Conference in New York on May 6 through 9, was if, let alone when, private capital would return to the industry. In the exhibit hall, much of the vendor focus was on technology and compliance which would ease that transition. Nary a wholesaler or correspondent aggregator was exhibiting.

The National Mortgage Settlement between state attorneys general and the federal government on one side and major mortgage servicers on the other is likely to affect the way small servicers and subservicers do business.

Fannie Mae and Bank of America are involved in a major dispute over $7 billion of outstanding buyback requests with the GSE cutting back on the loans it purchases from the giant bank.

For the past year nonbank loan officers have complained they must meet state licensing requirements and pass LO tests while their bank counterparts merely need to register with the states.

HUD secretary Shaun Donovan in a conference call pushed for quick approval of a trio of legislative proposals backed by the president that are aimed at further expansion of refinancing opportunities to underwater borrowers with clean payment histories.

While the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. made significant progress Wednesday toward building its new resolution regime, it left a key component still on the table.

When the CFPB’s loan officer compensation proposal came out late Wednesday night nonbank mortgage lenders and loan brokers hit the roof. Some trade group officials thought the young agency actually understood the mortgage market, thinking it would do what is best for consumers – which brokers believe would benefit them.

Community lenders this week asked lawmakers to grant some regulatory relief, arguing the Dodd-Frank Act and other supervisory actions are pushing them to the brink of extinction.