Key Democrats on the House Financial Services Committee are putting pressure on federal and state banking regulators to extend nontraditional mortgage guidance to adjustable-rate 2/28 and 3/27 mortgages to make sure those loans are underwritten at the fully-indexed rate."If financial institutions underwrite (or purchase loans underwritten) only for initial 'introductory' rates they are placing consumers at unnecessarily greater risk of foreclosure and other financial harm," the five Democratic lawmakers say in a Feb. 16 letter to the regulators. "We consider this an important safety and soundness issue," said Committee chairman Barney Frank (Mass.), Rep. Brad Miller (N.C.), along with three subcommittee chairs -- Carolyn Maloney (N.Y.), Maxine Waters (Calif.) and Mel Watt (N.C.). At a Feb. 15 hearing, Federal Reserve Board chairman Ben Bernanke said the regulators are working on guidance and had not yet determined whether 2/28 ARMs should be underwritten to the fully indexed rate. In a separate letter, 23 committee members urged the regulators not to penalize institutions for extending forbearance when exotic mortgages and other ARMs reset, resulting in "enormous" payment shocks for borrowers.
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While home lenders are seeing a decrease in issues coming through mobile channels, phone fraud spiked last year, accounting for 28% of losses, a new report found.
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The massive mortgage business saw a first quarter profit mitigated by nearly $300 million in hedging losses.
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The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has seen excessive property-inspection charges, fees that loan mods should eliminate and improper line-item labels.
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Michael Tannenbaum, whose experience in the financial services industry spans over 15 years, has a track record of helping companies scale and grow.
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A majority of consumers earning more than $100,000 annually said they were concerned about their own ability to purchase a home, demonstrating how affordability issues are impacting those at many socioeconomic levels, the University of Michigan study found.
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The nonbank's results add to other indications that the first quarter's "higher for longer" rate scenario had an upside for efficient servicing operations.
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