Compliance

The Federal Housing Administration has resolved a long-standing conflict with municipalities and private companies that back "green energy" loans that is expected to benefit banks and other mortgage lenders. The next question is whether the regulator of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgages will do the same.

Two Florida men have been sentenced for their roles in a mortgage fraud scheme that resulted in about $24 million of losses for several financial institutions, including M&T Bank in Buffalo, N.Y.

Loans to first-time homeowners and others with low credit scores are a big part of the Federal Housing Administration's growth in purchase mortgages since the agency cut premiums.

The mortgage industry typically takes a conservative approach to employees promoting their personal brands. But it's time for lenders to take a lesson from the presidential hopefuls who have gained an upper hand by playing up their individual brands.

Heightened compliance concerns are forcing some lenders to consider offering themselves for acquisition, but this strategy can only be successful with a highly calculated and deliberate approach.

A Virginia woman has pleaded guilty to leading a mortgage-fraud ring that victimized hundreds of Hispanic residents in the northern part of the state and caused millions of dollars in losses for lenders.

There's nothing like a natural disaster to make people realize how important insurance is to the banking industry.

Banks have ramped up foreclosure activity in the past five months, with default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions at their highest levels in two years. It's a positive sign that banks are finally clearing out all the distressed loans still lingering from the housing crisis. Meanwhile, banks remain cautious about new lending, partly because of regulatory actions.

The only thing more ominous than a CFPB investigation is when the FDIC and OCC join in on the action.

The new supplemental performance metric should encourage lenders to serve lower credit score borrowers.

The Federal Housing Administration's Neighborhood Watch website is back online after crashing about three weeks ago.

Four more Federal Home Loan Banks have won regulatory approval to participate in a program that allows member institutions to sell jumbo mortgage loans through a conduit to Redwood Trust.

Banks that sold faulty mortgage-backed securities right before the crisis have suffered a string of legal defeats over the timing of government lawsuits, but some experts believe the industry may still have a shot in the Supreme Court.

In 1979, mortgage bankers worried that they could be undercut by "sleeping giants" like Merrill Lynch, Sears Roebuck and what was then called Master Charge.

Neighborhood Watch, the Federal Housing Administration's "early warning system" for monitoring mortgage defaults and lender performance, crashed more than two weeks ago and it's unclear when the service will be restored.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency is expected to issue a proposal soon that would require Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to purchase manufactured housing loans from lenders.

Real estate brokers deserve a slice of mortgage revenue, but marketing services agreements are not the way to give it to them.

There are many concerning aspects of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's methods, not the least of which include its proclivity to regulate via enforcement and its reliance on overly broad and ambiguous language to support its activities.

Ocwen Financial's internal review group is "independent," and the Atlanta servicer is in compliance with the national mortgage settlement, settlement monitor Joseph A. Smith said Tuesday.

A New York law that was invalidated by a federal judge was one of many efforts by big cities to pressure banks into making more investments in local communities after the crisis. Some municipal laws could be more vulnerable to bankers' legal challenges than others.