Compliance

Investors still want to buy in the commercial mortgage-backed securities sector while performance is relatively good, but they are mindful that recent origination standards are slipping and there are risks in CMBS 1.0 too.

The Mortgage Grapevine is discussing a scenario where the borrower is reluctant to have an appraiser come in because there are two rooms which were added to the property but are not on the tax rolls.

Mortgage industry consulting firm zIngenuity has acquired Irwin Reinsurance Corp., a Vermont-domiciled captive reinsurance firm, and merged it into what it describes as a an indirect subsidiary called zInsureRe in the Cayman Islands.

The owner of a California mortgage brokerage company was sentenced to three years in prison and ordered to pay more than $5.8 million in restitution for her role in a real estate-related wire fraud conspiracy.

These grants are expected to assist more than 1.6 million households in their efforts to find affordable housing, make more informed housing choices and avoid foreclosure.

Rising interest rates may trim issuance of commercial-mortgage bonds by $15 billion this year, according to Standard & Poor’s.

Is the bar set so low that investors must dictate to servicers what the minimums are and how to manage the very basic elements of our business?

The National Security Agency spying scandal, sparked by news that the NSA has been monitoring phone and e-mail records of millions of Americans, could spill over into the mortgage industry.

Where industry credit limits stand and why was among the topics discussed by a group of industry executives convened by Origination News at the Mortgage Bankers Association’s National Secondary Market Conference in New York.

The recent rise in home prices has a number of observers concerned, and a Mortgage Grapevine post refers to recent article in a Denver newspaper on that topic.

The upgrades of the master and primary servicer rating reflect the completion of Wells Fargo's Systems Process Integration project and subsequent operational improvements.

Recent rate volatility created some challenges in pricing Fannie Mae’s recent $1.02 billion DUS REMIC last week but investor demand remained stronger for shorter maturities and support bonds.

Banks are pushing to overturn a legal theory that allows fair lending suits when there is no evidence that the lender intentionally discriminated against a particular racial or ethnic group, as long as the bank's policies had a disparate impact on minorities.

JPMorgan Chase must defend itself against allegations that it charged millions of dollars in improper fees to mortgage borrowers who were in default, a federal judge has ruled.

Consumer advocacy groups are calling on Michigan lawmakers to refrain from passing a new law that would strip certain homeowner protections during the foreclosure process and threaten the still fragile housing recovery.

Although post-crisis commercial mortgage-backed securities performance is pretty good so far, the trend toward minimal interest shortfalls returning to the sector is troublesome, according to Fitch.

Bank of America rewarded staff with cash bonuses and gift cards for meeting quotas tied to sending distressed homeowners into foreclosure, former employees said in court documents.

Despite a respite from fresh waves of sweeping residential mortgage-backed securities downgrades due to better home prices, due to the still-high delinquency pipeline the risk of a ripple effect from some previous downgrades already in progress remains.

Bankers defended force-placed insurance practices and dodged questions about alleged industry kickbacks and price gouging at a private but well-attended meeting hosted by the Federal Housing Finance Agency.

The prevalence of short sales is likely the most significant factor impacting foreclosure rate improvements and the housing recovery.