Risk management

A report due next week on the Federal Housing Administration's financial health is expected to show that the agency's reserve fund has significantly improved over the past year.

Trade groups press federal banking regulators to make the Basel III capital rule less onerous.

A new multifamily investment product will for the first time allow Freddie Mac to buy and guarantee bonds backed by multifamily loans that were originally underwritten by private entities.

The company cited uncertainties with industrywide litigation and the regulatory environment in the move. In August, a New York regulator questioned its purchase of the unit from an affiliated company.

Industry observers have mixed reactions on whether next year's Republican-controlled Congress will finally address long-stalled efforts to reform Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Despite policy changes that apply to new reverse mortgages, the rights for existing spouses of deceased borrowers remain unclear and subject to change until HUD and litigants agree on a final policy in line with court directives.

Lenders cannot afford to relax when it comes to performing regression analysis and fair lending training, but may find if they have strong compliance that they have more pricing options.

While the government-sponsored enterprises' move to allow down payments as low as 3% comes with some inherent risks, Fannie Mae executives are confident they can responsibly administer the new guidelines to ensure they're an effective tool for increasing access to credit.

More investors in mortgage servicers lost faith in the firms as quarterly results highlighted their struggles to expand into businesses, control costs and address issues raised by regulators.

Ocwen Financial is making progress to settle allegations against it, but that does not mean it will be cheap, one analyst says. The current servicing freeze in the industry has grown so serious that some say it may be delaying the government’s goals to expand the availability of mortgage credit.

Private investors backing firms like RPM Mortgage are placing bets on lenders in the U.S. home loan business once dominated by Wall Street's largest banks.

Justices seem to struggle with what rescission actually means in practice and in the Truth-in-Lending Act.

Count Two Harbors Investment Corp. among investors looking for profits in riskier home loans — and expecting a market for bonds backed by them to re-emerge even with safer issuance showing limited signs of life.

A U.S. District Court decision this week that blocked the use of a controversial legal theory in a fair housing case on discrimination has ignited industry hopes that the Supreme Court will take a similar stance on a separate, larger case pending before the high court.

Mortgage aggregators that paid billions of dollars in fines over faulty loans may soon play a new role: plaintiffs in their own lawsuits against originators.

Although this is a benefit to lenders who make a mistake in calculating points and fees, it does not address problems associated with a lack of clarity in the rules.

Outsourcing of labor amongst mortgage servicers may cause problems for the private-label residential mortgage-backed securities market, according to Fitch Ratings.

Lenders could face tougher enforcement and higher penalties if they make errors on the new mortgage disclosure forms that are slated to go in effect next August.

Wide-ranging efforts to reform Home Equity Conversion Mortgage lending and servicing practices are designed to close loopholes and resolve policy inconsistencies, but some obstacles remain unresolved and more work needs to be done.

Technology companies such as Ellie Mae, which almost doubled its employees to 700 and saw its stock price reach a new high this year, are seizing an opportunity to transform how mortgages are made.