Compliance & Regulation

Democratic Rep. Elijah Cummings is looking for evidence of potential improprieties at a controversial New York law firm that represents banks in foreclosure cases.

Residential servicers completed nearly 40,150 HAMP modifications in September, a 60% improvement from August, according to figures released by the U.S. Treasury Department.

U.S. District Court for the Central District of California Thursday dismissed a civil claim filed against Lender Processing Services by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., which accused the mortgage vendor of gross negligence in appraisals conducted for the now defunct Washington Mutual, Seattle.

A proposal from the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network would require Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to develop their own anti-money laundering programs as part of an ongoing effort to combat mortgage fraud.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency has the expertise to set servicing, underwriting, and mortgage securitization standards that could lead to the development of a private-label MBS market, according to the GSE regulator.

Efforts to reinstate the $729,750 maximum loan limit for Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and FHA loans has garnered the support of 137 House members, including 25 Republicans.

It may have been Raj Date's first time testifying before Congress as the interim head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, but Republicans did not let him off easy.

FirstPlus Financial Group Inc., a publicly traded mortgage company in Beaumont, Texas, was illegally taken over through extortion by thirteen individuals, two of whom are linked to the Lucchese organized crime family, according to an indictment filed by the U.S. Department of Justice.

Nearly two-thirds – or 60% – of European CMBS maturing loans could fail to repay by the end of 2012, according to Standard & Poor's.

The New York Supreme Court late Monday denied Countrywide and Bank of America's motion to consolidate various claims against them made by four bond insurers led by MBIA Insurance Corp.