Compliance & Regulation

The Federal Reserve Board on Wednesday disclosed details of a private meeting held with chief executives of several major U.S. banks on efforts to overhaul the financial system.

From time to time I hear appraisers talk about the fact that they feel undervalued, and that the business they’re in is becoming increasingly difficult. Some feel it’s a downright hostile environment for appraisers today.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency revealed that it gave Fannie Mae the green light to conduct a pilot program with Wells Fargo in March 2010 to test principal reduction modifications.

Wells Fargo plans to give its underwriters more control in approving mortgages that it retains in its own portfolio, as the bank tries to add high-quality assets to its balance sheet.

The message at the 2012 Regional Conference of Mortgage Bankers Associations in Atlantic City from many of the speakers at the first residential lending general session and at a roundtable hosted by National Mortgage News/Origination News was there is a lot of uncertainty regarding the future direction of the industry. And that is because it is waiting on a definition of what will constitute a qualified mortgage. Yet, attendees at the show were upbeat that the worse times are behind them.

The risk that securitized commercial mortgages from the years of loose underwriting will have trouble refinancing at maturity is largely said to have not materialized, but a report last week indicates it is still an outstanding risk both domestically and internationally.

House Democrats said Tuesday that a Fannie Mae program to reduce mortgage principal was killed two years ago by ideologically blinded officials who ignored projections that the plan would save taxpayers money.

Fannie Mae and Citibank officials were developing a principal reduction pilot program that was supposed to go live in July 2010 when it was “mysteriously” stopped and later terminated.

n this season of high political drama it is not really surprising that potential candidates, as well as a myriad of federal agencies, are all jockeying for the most complimentary spot in the limelight. The National Fair Housing Alliance is no exception.

Loss severities on U.S. commercial mortgage-backed securities have reached 45%, according to Fitch, which said this is a point at which they could plateau.