Servicing

Universal American Mortgage Co., the mortgage banking subsidiary of Lennar Corp., one of the nation's largest homebuilders, has acquired certain assets of Colorado-based Pinnacle Mortgage Group.

The 14-term congressman was a dominating force as House Banking Committee chairman. But the savings and loan deregulation bearing his name tarnished his legislative record, and ethics allegations created a cloud of suspicion that led to his ouster.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said examiners are on the lookout for borrowers getting the "runaround" when their loans are serviced by a new company.

The Mortgage Industry Standards Maintenance Organization will release two residential mortgage data standard updates in November 2014 and July 2015.

Consumer credit default rates continued declining to historical lows in July.

All employees, including executives, need to be focused on compliance and customer complaints. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is specifically concerned when a company does not appropriately monitor third-party vendors.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency banned banks and mortgage servicers from accepting commissions on force-placed insurance policies issued by affiliated companies. At least one mortgage servicer, Ocwen Financial, has found a way around the ban.

After commercial mortgage-backed security delinquencies declined for 15 straight months, this streak came to an end in July.

If consumers can't afford to pay the premium and the policy gets cancelled, servicers can acquire force-placed policies.

Weather-wise, we're having a relatively placid season. But legal and regulatory developments are a different story when it comes to lender-placed insurance.