Compliance

More than three years after The Hardest Hit Fund was established, just 22% of the $7.6 billion has been spent on relief efforts to help distressed borrowers, a TARP IG report says.

Michigan’s new public, private civic partnership is implementing a revitalization philosophy likely to transform metro Detroit and some of the nation’s hard-hit areas with high inventories of abandoned homes.

Guarantee fees are "closer" to risk-based pricing in the private sector but still need to increase, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency's acting director.

While the housing market is slowly picking up steam, there is still a very large inventory of distressed loans that pose a potential risk to the mortgage industry.

Servicers are still finding ways to cope with heightened regulatory scrutiny and continue to evaluate options to increase efficiencies while maintaining legal compliance.

There is an area of agreement between the government and the industry that minorities aren’t being served.

Tighter underwriting standards, strong farm income and relatively low loan-to-value ratios should provide a cushion if a downturn occurs.

The proposed legislation would require the Federal Emergency Management Agency to study and address affordability issues as well as postpone controversial insurance price hikes.

Arbitrary standards are forcing people who otherwise would be good credits out of the market, says Lewis Ranieri.

The attorney general is attempting to make an “end-run” around the mechanism for testing whether banks are complying with the settlement and for fixing violations.

Big banks are notorious for “hire and fire” tactics whenever there’s a hiccup in mortgage originations. Middle-market lenders can take advantage of this by pouncing on highly qualified staff they could not afford when the large banks were hiring.

Banks are scaling back from the almost $10 trillion market for MSRs amid looming Basel III regulations.

The charges accuse the firm and its three principals of forming a network of shell companies to profit from kickbacks through real estate settlement referrals.

Old Republic is the only one of the big four to see its profit increase as its mortgage insurance business contributes.

DeMarco wants to reduce Fannie and Freddie loan limits to make room for private capital in the mortgage market.

Contrary to popular belief there still are plenty of profitable single-family property investment opportunities in many U.S. markets.

Speculation that the Federal Reserve will maintain the status quo for its mortgage-backed securities and Treasury bond purchases put downward pressure on rates.

Consumer groups, governors and mortgage bankers are calling on Congress to reverse the law, which was designed to reduce the National Flood Insurance Program’s growing debt.

Arch announced plans in February to enter the market for mortgage insurance by adding assets from bankrupt insurer PMI Group in a $300 million deal.

JPMorgan Chase's acquisitions of Bear Stearns and Washington Mutual during the meltdown were once seen as bargains and more recently second-guessed in light of the bank's $13 billion mortgage settlement. The pain will pay off in the long run, experts say.