Compliance & Regulation

Credit unions could be hurt by a proposal that would allow Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to write down the principal on millions of underwater mortgages, industry leaders warned this week.

Like many controversies, mortgage lenders' use of force-placed home insurance arose from what was once a well established and unquestioned practice. For many years, homeowners who failed to maintain property insurance could count on their banks buying it for them and passing on the cost.

A lack of comprehensive planning by the Treasury Department and an inability to enlist servicer participation has stymied a federal program that provided billions in borrower assistance to state housing agencies, according to an inspector general's report.

Although Edward DeMarco, the acting director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, did not officially decide whether to allow Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to pursue a broad principal forgiveness program, his remarks last Tuesday left little doubt he would ultimately reject such an approach.

Vendors are trying to help companies address regulations, but they are finding the compliance mandate is a two-edged sword in terms of companies' spending on their services, said executives from Wipro Gallagher Solutions in a recent interview.

If your Loss Mitigation and REO Departments interact with listing agents in the traditional fashion, then you are enabling fraud.

The foreclosure crisis is loosening the traditionally strong tie homeowners have with their homes. New findings from FICO's latest quarterly survey of bank risk professionals indicate one way the slow recovery will affect distressed homeowners in 2012 is increased propensity for "strategic default."

Lenders are hoping the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will approve a 'qualified mortgage' rule with a safe harbor, protecting them from consumer lawsuits, but a legal analysis shows lenders may still be vulnerable if they are careless or cut corners.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's latest mortgage servicing proposals have the residential lending industry seeing dollar signs -- and not the good kind.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau detailed a slew of new mortgage servicing rules last week that it plans to propose this summer, including a call for expanded disclosures for payments and fees and new policies in how banks must handle customer accounts.