Compliance & Regulation

Finalizing a process that began 13 months ago, the Appraisal Practices Board has adopted new guidance that will help valuation professionals help determine the value of seller concessions in the appraisal process.

The Securities and Exchange Commission Tuesday sued the former top executives of now defunct 'super' jumbo lender Thornburg Mortgage, accusing the trio of hiding the firm's deteriorating financial condition and overstating income by $400 million.

Moving unexpectedly two days ahead of schedule, the Federal Reserve Board released the results of its annual stress test Tuesday afternoon, with certain large banks emerging as the strongest among their competitors.

A lawsuit filed by the county register of deeds in Guilford County, N.C. Tuesday claims mortgage documents in its records were 'robo-signed' in the name of Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems Inc. and wants a court to appoint a "Special Master" to determine which documents are fraudulent and require servicers to refile documents.

As fraudsters reinvent themselves, insiders warn about recent increases in short-sale fraud and call for preventive monitoring.

Every housing market investor has a certain mindset that guides decisions as to where to put their money, why, and when. Optimally, this "investment mentality" is not concerned with consumption or waste, but rather is focused on how to minimize risk and multiply hard earned dollars.

Swamped by huge volumes of delinquent mortgages, servicing managers at Bank of America, and Wells Fargo & Co. placed heavy pressure on staff to speed up handling of documents used to process foreclosures without properly reviewing their work, according to HUD audits released Tuesday.

The Lawyers’ Committee and counsel Davis Polk & Wardwell filed a lawsuit this week in New York Supreme Court in Nassau County on behalf of 18 homeowners claiming that a network of for-profit loan modification companies are conducting a fraudulent scam.

This week's congressional agenda features two hearings on housing, and a panel in San Antonio looking at the impact of new regulations on Texas lenders.

U.S. Bancorp has moved all its home appraisals to an in-house unit overseen by a senior risk officer, breaking from the way most banks handle valuations of residential properties.