Compliance

JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo are retaining more high-quality, conforming mortgages that they would normally sell to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, raising concerns that the banks are adversely selecting the weakest loans for the government-sponsored enterprises.

New York banking regulator Benjamin Lawsky said Wednesday his office will investigate claims that Ocwen Financial Corp. and other servicers require distressed borrowers to sign nondisclosure agreements in order to receive mortgage modifications.

Bank buyers and sellers should pay attention to the Fed's recent approval of Cullen/Frost's acquisition of WNB Bancshares. Cullen/Frost had to agree to improve its fair lending and other functions, underscoring the importance of buyers who work well in resolving compliance and other problems with regulators.

Fannie Mae sold $1.6 billion of risk-sharing debt to investors who today accepted the same yields on securities that wager on the default rates of riskier mortgages as on bonds tied to safer loans.

A task force of state and federal authorities set up in 2012 to probe the mortgage-bond sales that fueled the financial crisis has "more than a dozen ongoing investigations."

A joint effort by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to develop new technology for issuing mortgage-backed securities needs cost controls and a schedule, the auditor of the Federal Housing Finance Agency said.

Freddie Mac has long struggled to compete with larger rival Fannie Mae because the former's mortgage-backed securities trade at a discount to the latter's. Their new regulator may change that.

Last month, BMO Harris Bank changed policies on auto lending to pay a flat percentage of the loan amount to auto dealers making loans (sound familiar?).

The mortgage life support provided by the federal government since the crash is ebbing. It will be interesting to see if the industry can breathe on its own now.

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San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro is in line to head the Department of Housing and Urban Development, part of an administration reshuffling that would bring a Democratic up-and-comer to President Obama's cabinet.

Genworth Financial announced Thursday that its Australian mortgage insurance business will raise about $535 million in an initial public offering.

The normally even-keeled moderate Sen. Mark Warner warned fellow Democrats voting against a housing finance reform that when Fannie and Freddie need another taxpayer bailout, it will be their fault.

Democratic lawmakers on the Senate Banking Committee sounded off against bipartisan legislation to overhaul the mortgage finance system on Thursday, opposition that likely all but ruins the bill's chances of making it to the chamber floor this year.

Buyers still exist for mortgage platforms. The problem is that the gap in pricing expectations for buyers and sellers has widened since refinance activity stalled last summer.

As the market slows for post-downturn, private-label, residential mortgage-backed securities—known as RMBS 2.0—an industry group thinks it's time to start preparing for version 3.0.

The Senate Banking Committee passed major legislation to overhaul the housing finance system on Thursday.

Some words of advice to pass on to your referral sources and clients about the post-underwriting checks now in place.

The dim prospects for Congress doing anything to overhaul the system dominated by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac leaves a host of big questions about what happens to the mortgage sector going forward.

Residential Capital, the defunct mortgage company, sued Bank of America, RBC Mortgage Co. and other lenders, claiming they sold it poor-quality loans that led to its bankruptcy.