Compliance & Regulation

The Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and Registry is ending its reinstatement for streamlined renewals Wednesday at midnight EST.

The recently unveiled HARP 2.0 initiative should be “fully” operational in 30 days and is already exceeding expectations, according to Housing and Urban Development secretary Shaun Donovan.

During a pair of appearances Tuesday on Capitol Hill, top housing officials from the Obama administration sought to reassure members of Congress about the financial condition of the Federal Housing Administration.

Wells Fargo & Co. unveiled specific new terms in the national mortgage servicing settlement on Tuesday, providing the most detailed summary to date of what concessions banks did and did not win from federal and state officials.

While investing in domestic real estate is simple in theory, it is rarely easy in its execution. There is much involved—from banks’ stringent requirements and the glut of paperwork to overriding labor, market and macroeconomic conditions.

SunTrust Banks Inc., which has already lost hundreds of millions after repurchasing bad mortgages, could lose up to $150 million as it deals with the cost of mortgage-servicing problems.

HUD is increasing its enforcement efforts to recoup millions of dollars in losses on improperly underwritten FHA-insured loans, holding lenders accountable for their actions, Housing secretary Shaun Donovan told a Senate panel Tuesday morning.

Boston-based Highfields Capital Management, which owns a 7.7% stake in CoreLogic, accused CoreLogic's board of directors' "desire to maintain control rather than doing what is in the best interest of shareholders."

Mortgage industry compliance and risk management are expected to become “quite substantial in the next five years,” according to one of the co-founders of Digital Risk, a company planning to add 1,000 full-time professional positions in this area during 2012 alone.

A proposed $8.5 billion Countrywide RMBS settlement has returned to New York state court in a move that has been largely expected to speed its approval, with Fitch Ratings now estimating it could move ahead in mid-2012.