Compliance

Rather than relying on a formal marketing services agreement to get business, loan officers now have to prove that they can provide realty agents and consumers the best mortgage experience.

The Dodd-Frank Act is a burden on community banks and credit unions but regulators are struggling to quantify the costs, according to a report released Wednesday by the Government Accountability Office.

From the rollercoaster ride toward the TILA-RESPA implementation deadline to concerns about other areas the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau would zero in on for scrutiny, these seven stories dominated National Mortgage News during 2015. Following are both the stories and an update on where the situation stands now.

"The allegations of discrimination and predatory practices raised by the reporting are obviously very concerning to the bureau," a CFPB official said Tuesday.

What mortgage companies pay LOs, and how compensation plans are determined and structured, can give regulatory agencies more information about a company's priorities than lenders might think.

A proposal issued two weeks ago by the FHFA calls on the two government-sponsored enterprises to identify opportunities to increase their purchases of small multifamily properties in rural areas, sparking some concern among lenders.

After lenders and their technology providers spent much of 2015 implementing the TILA-RESPA integrated disclosures, forthcoming compliance audits and a government-sponsored enterprise plan to start collecting data from the new forms will tell if those efforts truly paid off.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency appears to be on course to decide next year whether Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac should update their credit scoring models.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency is giving private mortgage insurers some hope this holiday season that they might get a chance to offer deeper mortgage insurance on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac single-family loans.

Some mortgage investors are refusing to buy home loans that are at risk of violations of new consumer-disclosure rules. The problem appears to be worst among nonagency jumbo loans purchased by private investors.