Compliance

Home loans to lower-income Americans are dwindling as Washington regulators and major banks continue to haggle over who pays when riskier mortgages go bad.

Mortgage insurers agree that the FHFA's capital-retention proposal would offer more clarity than the existing regulatory framework, but they share concerns about the treatment of single-premium policies, risk requirements and other details.

Essent Guaranty in Radnor, Pa., is now an approved insurer of mortgage loans sold to Federal Home Loan Banks.

At least two mortgage servicers say they are close to being released from an OCC enforcement order that required 14 of the nation’s largest bank servicers to fix flaws in their foreclosure reviews. But the OCC says it has set no timetable for freeing any of the banks from the 2011 order.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are charging excessive loan fees, according to some industry groups, who claim it is time to stop overcharging borrowers who use conventional financing to buy a home.

During a wide-ranging discussion of the economy and regulation, Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf cited several factors that were harming the housing market. His comments came the same day the White House hosted a meeting on the topic.

A bill introduced in the House Financial Services Committee would eliminate appraisal requirements established by the Dodd-Frank Act for certain higher-risk mortgages when lenders hold the loans in portfolio for at least three years.

Post-crisis developments put a lot of underperforming loans in the hands of a small number of servicers. Increased regulation and the need for specialized skills drove banks out of the business.

California is planning to sell $110 million of veterans general obligation bonds in a competitive offering Thursday.

Banks and mortgage lenders may have received too much relief from loan buybacks, putting taxpayers at greater risk for losses, according to a Federal Housing Finance Agency inspector general's report.

U.S. Bank in Minneapolis will pay nearly $11,500 to a Native American couple in North Dakota to settle a lending-discrimination complaint with the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

In his first major policy speech as the new housing secretary, Julian Castro voiced support for a Senate bill to reform housing finance and said policymakers should "remove the stigma associated with promoting homeownership."

Citigroup Inc., Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. are among 13 banks whose units were sued for $1.15 billion by the state of Virginia, over claims they misled its retirement system about the sale of residential mortgage-backed securities.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency's plan to restrict membership to the Federal Home Loan Bank System could cost lenders hundreds of billions in mortgage funding, according to the CEO of the Chicago FHLB.

Mortgage REIT wants more control over servicing so it can transfer delinquent loans to special servicers.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and Fannie Mae may actually be helping banks and mortgage lenders boost their bottom lines through better oversight of their third-party vendors.

New York regulator Benjamin Lawsky has begun investigating possible predatory lending practices at companies that originate short-term, high-interest loans secured by a borrower's home.

An identity theft victim provides some tips for everyone -- consumers, mortgage originators and referral sources -- on how to protect themselves.

Legacy mortgage insurers welcome the level playing field that will come with a recent capital retention proposal, even though the new requirements will have a greater impact on firms that have larger volumes of insurance on high-risk loans.

CertusBank in Greenville, S.C., has agreed to sell its mortgage and wealth businesses as it tries to move past its history of high expenses and heavy losses.