Compliance & Regulation

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has decided to shift course before finalizing changes to the good faith estimate form, a project the bureau has been working on diligently since last summer.

What will be the story of this decade in the mortgage industry? It will be the return of the market to normalcy (or a new normal). The question is: when?

The answer to that question is: tight credit with unemployment being the runner-up. Although some naysayers believe the job picture hasn't improved much, there are many realists who think otherwise. But one thing we can agree upon is this: employment is not booming.

Citigroup has finally unloaded the rest of its minority stake in the Mumbai-based Housing Development Finance Corp. as part of its capital planning efforts, but will continue other business relationships with the company including investment and cash management services.

Weeks after state and federal officials said they would ensure borrowers still had the right to sue servicers even under the $25 billion mortgage settlement, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency appears ready to follow suit.

FACTS: On Feb. 13, Patricia Ann King of Bakersfield, pleaded guilty to aiding and assisting the preparation of a false tax document and to three counts of mail fraud for her role in a mortgage fraud scheme.

Fannie Mae late Friday finally had something to say about Bank of America's announcement that it would no longer sell new purchase money loans to the GSE: it hopes to resolve the buyback disputes between the two parties.

State and federal disclosure differences could be a challenge as U.S. regulators continue to work toward improving the Good Faith Estimate and consumers' understanding of it.

Flagstar Bancorp, the nation's ninth largest residential lender, late this week agreed to pay up to $133 million to settle claims regarding unspecified underwriting practices associated with loans insured by the Federal Housing Administration.

First off, I'd like to thank the crew at Bank of America for continually giving mortgage reporters and editors something to write about. Don't get me wrong--there's plenty of good stories out there. And let's face it--and you read it here first: What happens regulatory and legislatively over the next three to four years should shape the future of this industry for the next 50 years.