Data security

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is among several agencies that "continue to investigate events related to" last year's Equifax brief, the credit reporting firm said in a securities filing.

Equifax, the credit-reporting firm that suffered a massive data breach last year, said it will notify an additional 2.4 million U.S. consumers that they were affected by the hack.

Servicers continue to face data management challenges, particularly during loan onboarding and transfers. Blockchain technology may hold the key to resolving those issues.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren released a scathing report Wednesday on Equifax's handling of the data breach last year, part of an effort to gain backing for legislation to rein in the credit bureaus.

It is unclear whether the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is abandoning its supervisory oversight of Equifax or just taking a back seat to the Federal Trade Commission as the latter investigates the credit bureau.

The government must continue to provide support for the mortgage market in any new housing finance system, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Tuesday.

Credit score damage is a chief regret among consumers, but among financial goals it impedes, buying a home lies further down the food chain than other priorities.

While the majority of lenders feel mortgage industry data initiatives have been valuable, their cost is clouding some originators' viewpoint, a Fannie Mae survey found.

Acting Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Mick Mulvaney has cited hundreds of confirmed and suspected data breaches as justification for his halting the bureau's data collection activities last month.

The CFPB's recent freeze on collecting any personally identifiable information from companies it supervises is slowing investigations and could ultimately cripple the agency's enforcement function — and that may be the point.

The two senators are set to introduce a bill that would force such firms to pay $100 per customer whose personal information was compromised.

From deregulation to digital innovation, here's a look at the top storylines that defined the mortgage industry in 2017.

A breach at Alteryx that exposed sensitive information from more than 100 million U.S. households could add to fraud risks in housing finance

Block One Capital has signed a binding term sheet to acquire 40% of the equity of Finzat, a private entity aiming to develop a blockchain system to create a safer, more compliant digital mortgage process.

The trade group wants Equifax to reimburse community banks for costs tied to the massive data breach at the credit bureau this year. The ICBA also wants a court to order Equifax to improve its security measures.

Equifax reported earnings that were 27% lower and mortgage services revenue was 2% lower on a year-to-year basis after revealing a major breach and taking steps to improve security.

Calls for less reliance on credit bureaus and Social Security numbers for verification are leading many to envision a future of identity on a distributed ledger.

Equifax continues work to add new security features and restore full access to The Work Number following a report highlighting potential security vulnerabilities in a browser-based portal of its employment verification service.

The nonbinding guidance, which followed a nearly yearlong inquiry about industry practices, said consumers should have greater ability to obtain information about their financial data, among other principles.

Recently exposed security vulnerabilities in an Equifax tool used extensively in the mortgage industry are raising new questions about the reliability and veracity of the beleaguered credit bureau's employment verification service.