Compliance

A federal indictment charged 11 individuals for their roles in a $15 million mortgage fraud scam that used straw buyers to make illegal profits on overbuilt condominiums in New Jersey.

The September expiration date for the Small Business Administration's secondary market program for the first lien position means that first mortgages will no longer be eligible for a government guarantee.

Market participants believe the availability of new mortgage production is an obstacle to QE3 despite Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke's supportive comments in his semi-annual congressional testimony.

The Texas community banker who's leading the courtroom fight against the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau took his case to Capitol Hill.

Just as lending was starting to catch fire, some banking executives are already pouring cold water.

Habitat for Humanity is expressing concern about the potential impact of the so-called qualified mortgage rule on its ability to build homes for people in need.

In reaction to the mortgage industry’s woes, and in some cases in spite of them, technology has marched on giving us new tools, techniques, and tactics that enhance our ability to be vigilant.

Since agreeing to a consent order with federal regulators last year, Wells Fargo has embarked on an aggressive plan to implement new loss mitigation strategies and improve upon existing practices.

Fannie and Freddie are developing enhanced and aligned strategies for facilitating short sales and deeds-in-lieu of foreclosure and deeds-for-lease in order to help more homeowners avoid foreclosure

With the numerous program guidelines, strategies and other challenges facing mortgage servicers, the ability to rapidly develop and deploy technology is crucial for current and future loss mitigation efforts, according to a panel at the National Mortgage News “Best Practices in Loss Mitigation” Conference in Dallas.

On July 17, a 26-count indictment was unsealed charging Eliseo Jara Jr., Sergio Jara, Antonio Perez Marcial, Lucia Yolanda Chavez, Arlene Jeanette Jara, Candace Shantel Gonzales, Joseph Shawn Chavez Jr., Melissa Rochelle Jara and Ricardo Fabian Salinas in a mortgage fraud conspiracy. The indictment was returned on July 12 by a federal grand jury in Fresno and the defendants were arrested at their residences on July 17.

An Oregon homeowner’s fight against Merscorp Holdings was revived after a state appellate court reversed a lower court’s decision to rule in favor of the owner of the Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems before the case went to trial.

Bank of America is growing its retail residential mortgage originations and hiring loan officers even as it continues to cut back debt and expenses in other areas.

FraudGuard and PredProtect have received assessments from SecureInfo that shows both of these tools have low security risk.

One legal expert says the use of eminent domain to seize mortgages out of private-label securities would diminish the value of the overall pool of securitized loans.

Drawing the line between regulatory failures and regulatory implementation failures is not an easy task.

Home Loan Servicing Solutions acquired certain non-agency mortgage servicing assets with unpaid principal balances from Ocwen earlier this year.The impact has picked up its second quarter results.

Currently, borrowers in communities outside of metropolitan statistical areas with populations below 10,000 are eligible for RHS-guaranteed loans.

As commercial loans continue to default at a brisk pace, the controlling classes of certificate holders in CMBS are likely to change with increasing frequency.

A Utah man pleaded guilty in federal court for his role in a multimillion-dollar mortgage fraud scheme that resulted in the illegal flipping of six properties and huge lender losses.