Compliance

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit will hear oral arguments Tuesday about the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's structure, in a case that has national implications. Even though a ruling isn't expected until the end of the year, legal experts say there are four major legal issues involved.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's experiments with selling credit risk to investors are a critical element of new plan to merge the two entities and move them out of conservatorship, but what form so-called credit risk transfers take could make a big difference.

The co-owner of a mortgage company responsible for a large-scale fraud scheme was sentenced to 21 months in prison in a Newark, N.J., federal court.

The housing market has been improving but mortgage credit remains "stubbornly" tight on loans bought by the government-sponsored enterprises, according to a chief housing adviser at the White House.

Nomura Holdings Inc. held a training session after a former Jefferies & Co. managing director was indicted for fraud and encouraged its traders not to lie — but that didn't stop the fibbing to customers about bond prices, according to U.S. prosecutors.

No-action letters from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau can be an essential tool for lenders in striving to the mortgage process more consumer-friendly through inventive products and service — but lenders must seek them out.

Stuart Delery, the Justice Department official overseeing civil investigations of banks for conduct related to the financial crisis, is stepping down April 14 to explore options in the private sector.

The U.S. Supreme Court's decision last week not to review a mortgage-backed securities lawsuit renewed interest in a long-brewing legal conflict over the mandate of the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's reluctance to outline explicit requirements for marketing services agreements forces lenders and servicers to play guessing games with compliance, executives claim. But the agency says defining what constitutes an illegal MSA isn't so simple.

Two appeals court judges raised constitutional questions Monday about the structure of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in the agency's case alleging that PHH Corp. accepted illegal kickbacks.