Compliance & Regulation

Despite falling house prices and rising claims, the Federal Housing Administration's mortgage insurance fund clung to a slim capital ratio of 0.24% on its book-of-business for the year ending Sept. 30, compared to 0.5% a year ago, according to independent actuarial reports released Tuesday morning.

House and Senate conferees have agreed to restore the $729,750 maximum loan limit for Federal Housing Administration-backed mortgages for two years – but left the GSE cap unchanged.

The acting director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency told a Senate panel this morning that the agency is moving ahead with "private" risk sharing opportunities between Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac and firms outside of the government's control.

Mortgage servicers seem to be caught between a rock and hard place when it comes to foreclosures: their legal practices are being scrutinized by state attorneys general for sloppy paperwork while the GSEs pile on fees for delays in loss mitigation work.

The Justice Department began sending letters Monday to servicemembers who are entitled to $20 million in damages from Bank of America Corp. for alleged violations of the Servicemember Civil Relief Act.

Military personnel whose homes were improperly foreclosed upon will each receive at least $116,875 from BAC Home Loans Servicing, a subsidiary of Bank of America, for the bank's alleged violation of the Servicemember Civil Relief Act.

Clarity Services has released its new Clear Subprime ID Fraud solution designed to prevent mortgage fraud for lenders in the subprime market.

U.S. District Judge Liam O'Grady has sentenced a man to two years in prison, followed by 24 months of supervised release, for using his professional experience as a loan officer to commit mortgage fraud.

Effective Jan. 1, 2012 the California Real Estate Commissioner may issue citations to unlicensed persons the commissioner believes to be engaging in activities for which a real estate license is required or to licensees who are in violation of any provision of the Real Estate Law or any rule or order thereunder.

Lawyers have opened a new front in mortgage securities litigation by suing BNY Mellon and U.S. Bank over an alleged failure to properly handle the storage and recordkeeping of mortgage documents. But observers and participants in more established mortgage repurchase litigation question whether suing over trust and document custody errors is a promising fight.