Compliance

Regulators have warned about the dangers of high commercial real estate concentrations despite bankers' assertions that they are managing risk better compared to the financial crisis. Still, CRE concerns could influence M&A and loan diversification in 2017.

Barclays was sued by the U.S. Justice Department for allegedly deceiving investors who bought mortgage-backed securities, according to court papers filed in federal court in Brooklyn.

Opposition is lining up against the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's arbitration plan. A Republican-controlled Congress is expected to overturn a final rule even as industry groups file lawsuits to stop it from going into effect. Some attorneys think the arbitration rule-making is already dead on arrival.

The case against Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is stronger than the argument for their survival.

Treasury Secretary nominee Steven Mnuchin is facing growing pressure from Senate Democrats to account for his leadership of a bank accused of shoddy foreclosure practices.

Ginnie Mae, at the urging of the mortgage industry, has revised the wording of the acknowledgment agreements necessary to finance servicing rights. It hopes the move improves Ginnie MSRs' liquidity.

Flagstar Bancorp in Troy, Mich., said that the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has terminated its 2012 consent order with its Flagstar Bank on Monday.

The National Association of Realtors is warning House Republicans leaders that their tax reform plan would marginalize two long-standing tax incentives for owning a home, which could hurt the housing market.

A district court in Texas has filed an injunction against last year's Department of Labor ruling on loan officer compensation but lenders should hold themselves to that standard as basic compliance regardless of the outcome.

Credit Suisse Group may reach an agreement as soon as this week to settle a U.S. investigation into its handling of mortgage-linked securities before the 2008 financial crisis, Reuters reported.

Two former executives of the failed GulfSouth Private Bank in Destin, Fla., and another man have been indicted on federal charges of defrauding the Troubled Asset Relief Program of $7.5 million.

Deutsche Bank may reach a deal as early as Wednesday to settle allegations by the Department of Justice that it misled investors when selling mortgage-backed securities, Reuters reported.

The transition team for President-elect Donald Trump is considering several candidates to fill key spots at the Department of Housing and Urban Development and Federal Housing Administration, including a homebuilder and former lender.

Although Steven Mnuchin has close ties to Wall Street and was involved in some contentious deals, Democrats face an uphill battle making the case that those connections disqualify him to serve as Treasury secretary.

A regulatory 2017 scorecard for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac calls on the firms to transfer a significant portion of credit risk to third-party private investors on at least 90% of unpaid principal balance of newly acquired single-family mortgages.

Wells Fargo's disclosure documents notifying borrowers of pending adjustable-rate mortgage resets are defective because they do not include information for a single point of contact at the bank, a lawsuit filed in California claims.

SunTrust Bank failed a test related to the collection of default-related fees from consumers in the latest report regarding its compliance with the National Mortgage Settlement.

When Barack Obama leaves office on Jan. 20, Democratic appointees across the government are expected to follow him out the door, to be replaced by officials chosen by Donald Trump. Not Mel Watt — he isn't planning to go anywhere.

While mortgage servicers are prohibited from early compliance with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's final servicing rule, there are a few steps they can take now ahead of the rule's effective date.

The surge in mortgage rates since the November election is expected to offset the increase to lenders' short-term funding costs following the Federal Open Markets Committee's 25-basis-point increase to the federal funds rate.