Compliance

The Federal Open Market Committee agreed unanimously Wednesday to raise the federal funds rate by 25 basis points, a move that was widely anticipated by markets. The committee's expectations for interest rates in 2017, however, were more varied.

The mortgage interest deduction has been a pillar of U.S. housing policy for more than a century, but Congress appears ready to consider significant changes to it that some industry players worry could effectively render it moot.

Credit Suisse Group must face New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman's $10 billion lawsuit accusing the bank of fraud in the sale of mortgage-backed securities prior to the 2008 financial crisis, a state appeals court ruled Tuesday in a split decision.

One step the government can take to strengthening housing is to create a unified office dedicated to housing finance and policy, streamlining and making more efficient existing agencies and programs.

Of the five banks that failed their living will tests earlier this year and were forced to resubmit plans, only Wells Fargo failed again, resulting in immediate regulatory action that will restrict its growth, including its ability to expand internationally and buy nonbank subsidiaries.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency finalized a rule Tuesday that will create a "duty to serve" for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to help low- and moderate- income consumers, including encouraging a secondary market for manufactured housing loans.

When Donald Trump announced his choice for Treasury secretary last month, he called Steven Mnuchin a "world-class financier," citing business successes like his profitable turnaround of a California bank.

A former Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. trader was charged with defrauding customers by lying about prices of mortgage-backed securities, becoming the latest target of a U.S. crackdown on deceptive practices in the bond market.

Manufactured housing advocates are "guardedly optimistic" that the Federal Housing Finance Agency will soon issue a long-awaited final rule that they hope will expand the secondary market for mobile homes.

Moves by lenders to adapt their processes with the TILA-RESPA integrated disclosure rule in mind appear to have staunched the increase in loan application defects, according to ACES Risk Management.

A bipartisan duo of House lawmakers introduced a bill Thursday that would push Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to engage in more credit risk-sharing transactions.

Affordable housing advocates are seizing on President-elect Donald Trump's call for tax reform, hoping that a new tax credit program to revitalize run-down homes in distressed neighborhoods will be attractive to the incoming administration.

Digital mortgages are not an idea for the future; they are here to stay, and the mortgage industry must put aside its misplaced fear of technology and change and embrace them.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency is expected to downgrade Wells Fargo's Community Reinvestment Act rating in January to "needs to improve," from "outstanding," according to a story by Reuters, citing unnamed sources.

Two reports released Wednesday indicate mixed reactions to the presidential election where consumers' attitudes toward housing are concerned.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Wednesday filed consent orders against three reverse mortgage companies, accusing them of deceptive advertising and misrepresentations.

Banking and credit union trade groups are urging Congress to consider repealing any upcoming Consumer Financial Protection Bureau rules governing arbitration, payday lending, debt collection and prepaid cards by using its authority under the Congressional Review Act.

The rise of digital mortgages and increasing lender consolidation are just two reasons mortgage brokers should make the transition to mortgage banking sooner rather than later.

Some mortgage bond traders tangled up in investigations are moving into the shadow banking system, where their new employers have greater latitude to hire people with blemishes on their records.

Fannie Mae joined Freddie Mac in announcing plans to delist some previously issued Connecticut Avenue Securities, which transfer the credit risk on residential mortgages, from the Irish Stock Exchange.