Compliance & Regulation

Early Wednesday afternoon it appeared that New York and California would not be part of the 'robo-signing' deal and then - from what we're told - the White House put the full court press on the two, laying out the political ramifications for these two very Democratic states.

Wendover Consulting Inc., the Greensboro, N.C. company founded by reverse mortgage guru Jeff Taylor, has beefed up its management team with three new hires.

When the White House releases its fiscal year 2013 budget next week it's expected to show that the Federal Housing Administration's mortgage insurance fund is still in the black - but barely, according to mortgage insurance and former regulators who have been tracking the issue.

California Attorney General Kamala Harris and New York AG Eric Schneiderman Wednesday afternoon joined a multi-state settlement with the top five mortgage servicers, according to sources familiar with the negotiations.

Bank of America Corp. is limiting the number of refinance applications it accepts over the phone, telling borrowers who do not have an existing relationship with the bank that they may have to wait 60 to 90 days before their loan application can be processed, a B of A spokesman said Wednesday.

An industry law firm said Wednesday it has formed its own financial fraud enforcement task force following the recent introduction of the Obama Administration's Residential Mortgage-Backed Securities Working Group.

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York said Wednesday that it has sold assets with a current face value of $6.2 billion from its Maiden Lane II LLC portfolio through a competitive process to Goldman Sachs & Co.

Here’s a current-day dilemma to ponder: a listing agent lands a new bank-owned listing. Before marketing, the property needs an occupancy check, a clean-out, some minor repairs, and a few other maintenance items. Agent hurries to get the sign in the yard. A week or two passes before the bank approves expenses and determines list price based on BPO and appraisal.

A House Financial Services panel on Tuesday approved a bill requiring the Federal Housing Administration to submit a plan to Congress on how it will avoid a bailout of its financially strapped mortgage insurance fund.

The United Kingdom's Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, said regulators there are considering regulating loan-to-value ratios in mortgage lending.