Loan Think

A recent critique of the CFPB's enforcement action against an alleged loan officer point bank run by RPM Mortgage perpetuates misinformation that only serves to undermine the policies and practices of responsible lenders.

When the next wave of REO activity hits, it will be heavily influenced by some of the leftover problem loans from the last downturn, as well as new defaults from more recent originations.

FICO discards incomplete and old credit history information for a good reason. The solution to today's credit-access problems is not to use this unreliable data but to turn to alternative data such as the payment of everyday bills.

Access to credit is too tight. New credit-scoring models could increase the number of eligible borrowers in the U.S. without weakening todays underwriting parameters.

Throwing bodies at TRID implementation won't solve problems. Using technology to automate origination processes can help rein in costs and maintain compliance.

Alternative data used to score "credit invisibles" may do more harm than good. That's because in areas like employment and insurance, no credit score is often better than a bad one

Two recent settlements show how far the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is willing to go to pursue lenders it believes skirted the loan officer compensation rules.

Fannie and Freddie should offer upfront risk-sharing options in order to give lenders an opportunity to lower their guarantee fees while encouraging more private capital and competition to flow into the secondary mortgage market.

Getting together and sharing information and experiences should extend beyond executives throughout the mortgage industry to those we rely on most.

In the struggle between operational compliance and cost control, advanced analytics and technology can help lenders find an efficient middle ground.