Compliance

A federal judge has overturned a New York City law that would have required banks to make new disclosures regarding their investments in local communities.

M&T Bank's disclosure that it is in settlement talks with the Justice Department for not complying with underwriting guidelines on FHA loans has renewed fears that more lenders will be targeted.

An organization's operations team can only effect change as far as management trusts and empowers them to.

Former Wilmington Trust President Robert V.A. Harra was indicted on U.S. charges that he lied to regulators as part of a scheme to hide bad real estate loans

M&T Bank Corp. said it's in discussions with U.S. officials to settle an investigation into the lender's origination and sale of federally insured home loans.

Ginnie Mae has updated the procedures manual used by the custodians of documents involved in mortgage-backed securities.

Lenders said the delay in implementing the combined loan and closing disclosures is giving them valuable added time to train their staff, according to a DocuTech survey.

Regardless of recent activity, marketing services agreements can be legal if lenders find the proper formula to follow.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its estimate for reasonably possible legal costs in excess of reserves by 55% to $5.9 billion.

Lawmakers included a measure that will impose new mortgage reporting requirements on banks and servicers as part of a short-term highway funding bill passed this week by both chambers of Congress.

Bank of America has received approval for additional credit during the first quarter of 2015 from the independent monitor overseeing its compliance with the requirements of its mortgage settlement agreement.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development found recently that a Federal Housing Administration down payment assistance program translated to higher mortgage rates for borrowers.

Home Affordable Modification Program denial rates are still high, but the Treasury Department and top mortgage servicers contend that the numbers have improved.

The Federal Housing Administration is expected to rebuff a government watchdog report that blasted down payment assistance programs. The report has raised concerns that mortgage lenders would have to indemnify FHA for past loans, and that housing finance agencies would have the programs restructured.

The House Financial Services Committee approved a bill that would delay the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's enforcement of the new TILA-RESPA integrated disclosure rules. It also approved two additional bills addressing the qualified mortgage rule and GSE executive compensation.

Regulators have given the merger between CIT Group and OneWest Bank the green light — so long as CIT comes up with a revised Community Reinvestment Act plan. This condition is good news for the low-income communities impacted by the merger and sets a strong precedent for regulators' review of future bank deals.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency is still not producing enough adequately-trained examiners necessary to monitor Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, according to an inspector general report.

The Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program is renewing calls for further investigation of servicers it claims may be denying too many Home Affordable Modification Program applications.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is charging two companies affiliated with Western Union and Fidelity National Financial more than $38 million in total charges for allegedly steering consumers into a mortgage payment program that cost them millions of dollars in fees.

The bankruptcy of Wingspan Portfolio Advisors epitomizes the existential crisis facing default servicing. This once-thriving sector of the mortgage industry now finds itself declining in lockstep with the drop in loan delinquencies and foreclosures.