Compliance & Regulation

Investors in Government National Mortgage Association MBS have little to fear from FHA's effort to juice its streamline refinancing program, according to analysts at Bank of America/Merrill Lynch.

After months of stating that the housing market needs to bottom out in order to hasten an economic recovery, Republican presidential front-runner Mitt Romney shifted to a more proactive message on housing during a weekend campaign appearance.

As cities and towns across the country struggle to pay bills and prevent troubled properties from giving rise to blighted neighborhoods, they're turning by the hundreds to a new tactic.

The Federal Trade Commission has brought more than 90 cases since 2009 to stop deceptive practices such as falsely promised assistance with mortgage modifications, and there are likely to be more actions related to modification fraud ahead, FTC officials said in recent testimony.

Fannie Mae said Monday it has taken its first step in providing additional loan-level disclosures by releasing a series of at-issuance data.

If the U.S. economy needs more stimulus, resuming the Federal Reserve's mortgage-backed security purchase program "would probably be the best course of action," according to San Francisco Fed President John Williams.

On Feb. 16, a federal grand jury in Tucson returned a four count indictment against Rex Adams for Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud, and False Statement to Influence a Financial Institution. At the time of the allegations raised in the indictment, Adams worked as a manager and loan officer for a mortgage broker in Tucson.

The National Association of Federal Credit Unions told leaders of the Senate Banking Committee last week that the credit union industry, which is emerging as one of the most important players in the home loan market, is opposed to any mortgage reforms that would include elimination of the federal guarantee on loans sold on the secondary market currently through Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

A federal judge has ordered the former CEO of Brookstreet Securities Corp. to pay a maximum $10 million penalty in a securities fraud case related to the financial crisis.

Bond insurer MBIA Inc. reported losses in the fourth quarter of 2011. In a report released last week, MBIA said that it had an adjusted pre-tax loss of $252 million in the fourth quarter. That compares to an adjusted pre-tax loss of $311 million in the fourth quarter of 2010.