Compliance & Regulation

It's that time of the year again: one in which financial services columnists wax poetic and ponder the Bailey Building and Loan and how if it existed today (it doesn't really) regulators would sue George Bailey (and Uncle Billy and 'Old Man' Potter since he sat on the board) for fraud to go after the D&O insurance.

The partisan fight over the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has snagged the nominations to head two other federal banking regulators.

It looks like Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller won't be getting his Christmas wish this year. Miller, who is leading the settlement talks with the top five mortgage servicers, said earlier this month that the settlement should be reached by the holiday.

The Senate over the weekend added an increase in FHA premiums to the payroll tax bill, passing the measure by an overwhelming margin of 89-10.

During the week of Dec. 5, three conspirators in a Valley mortgage-fraud ring say a Mesa minister with a worldwide following masterminded the scheme. A former loan officer, escrow agent and straw buyer who have pleaded guilty as part of a deal with federal authorities SAY THEY HELPED CLINT ROGERS launder millions of dollars through his ministry.

An Illinois man pleaded guilty in federal court for advertising and selling property in northwestern Alabama that he did not own or provide title for after receiving payments from prospective homebuyers to purchase these assets.

With a nod to Bob Dylan's prophetic lyrics, it seems the times are changing for the mortgage industry. Significant changes now taking place in the way mortgage loans are originated have created new challenges. Creative loan products have become a part of the past.

The trustee of the Meridian Investors Trust has filed a lawsuit on behalf of investors of the failed Meridian Mortgage funds to recoup over $150 million relating to a Ponzi scheme using their money.

Just imagine what a 10 basis point guarantee fee hike would do to the market for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans. Well, apparently, the mortgage insurance industry has done quite a bit of imagining and has managed to get language added to the payroll tax bill that seeks parity between g-fee hikes for Fannie/Freddie, and GNMA.

Despite a concerted effort from the Defense Department to help members of the military achieve greater financial stability, there is still an enormous financial education gap.