Compliance & Regulation

Canada's Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions has drafted a proposed set of guidelines for sound residential mortgage underwriting practices.

ATLANTIC CITY, NJ - The qualified mortgage definition, which should come out next month from the Consumer Financial Protection Board, needs to be carefully crafted, otherwise it will affect credit availability and affordability, said the regulatory counsel for the Mortgage Bankers Association.

I started my first day at Goldman Sachs in 2004. As with all GS employees in New York, I sat through an all-day briefing on the firm, the culture, and the rules of the road. It was the most comprehensive session for new employees that I have ever experienced. That first day and all subsequent days after that while working at Goldman Sachs always exceeded my expectations.

Wells Fargo is already contacting borrowers who might be eligible for a principal reduction as required under the $25 billion robo-signing settlement with state and federal law enforcement agencies.

A company that has been helping to mitigate strategic default risk with borrower incentives for on-time payments, now is more broadly offering to help clients mitigate certain second-lien loan balance sheet concerns through rewards for accelerated pay-downs.

Richard Cordray, director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, told a group of business journalists Friday that he is looking forward to being held accountable by them. Moments later, he was defending the agency's power.

An appellate court decision earlier this month would provide a new avenue for borrowers to file suit against mortgage servicers that deny permanent modifications under the Home Affordable Modification Program.

A federal judge has indicated he plans to reject Goldman Sachs & Co.'s motion to dismiss NCUA's suit and continue the case challenging the Wall Street bank over $1.1 billion of faulty residential mortgage-backed securities it sold to U.S. Central FCU and WesCorp FCU, the two biggest credit union failures ever.

The growth of social media tools such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn has aided many mortgage originators in their ability to communicate with their customers. But for the companies they work for, these tools could be a compliance nightmare.

On March 7, U.S. District Judge Neil V. Wake sentenced Paige Kinney, aka Jamielee Miller, to 15 years in prison. Kinney had previously pleaded guilty to various charges related to a mortgage fraud scheme and to charges of bankruptcy fraud, wire fraud, mail fraud, and bank fraud in two separate indictments.