Compliance

Amherst notes that lending standards in FHA/VA programs have remained “roughly constant” with more activity gravitating toward the two programs.

The Treasury Department's inspector general said while the OCC focused on loan workout policies at major servicers, its supervision from 2008 through 2010 was "not sufficient in scope or application to identify significant weaknesses in national banks' foreclosure documentation and processing functions."

Abacus Federal Savings Bank and more than a dozen of its former employees are facing criminal charges related to a scheme in which it allegedly falsified information on mortgage applications so that unqualified borrowers could secure loans.

Financial Crimes Enforcement Network director Jim Freis' departure reflects a fundamental disagreement between Treasury and Freis over the role Fincen plays and just how independent it should be.

By a voice vote, the House of Representatives passed a 60-day extension of the flood insurance program that will keep the program running through the end of July. The bill now goes to President Obama for his signature.

The national mortgage fraud risk index decreased 4.3% in 1Q 2012 from the previous quarter and 3.1% from a year ago.

The housing crisis is one of the longest lasting effects of the economic recession, with home foreclosures continuing to stain our economy. As more homes enter and remain in foreclosure, the servicer (whether on its own or on behalf of the investor) is responsible for maintaining these properties per local and state regulations. And mobile apps have added a new tool servicers can use in the field.

The Deloitte Center for Financial Services says that assets controlled by the shadow banking system—including money-market mutual funds and asset- and mortgage-backed securities -have declined by more than 50% in the last four years, to $9.53 trillion at Dec. 31.

Wells Fargo in an agreement that dismisses a lawsuit filed by area officials said it would provide $4.5 million worth of mortgage downpayment and home renovation assistance to certain borrowers in the Memphis region as well as put another $3 million into other local initiatives.

Back in the year 2000, when Franklin Raines held the title of chairman and chief executive officer of Fannie Mae, Rep. Richard Baker, R-La., sponsored the Housing Finance Regulatory Improvement Act. This bill not only asked for increased oversight over Fannie and Freddie but also recommended unifying the regulation of Fannie and Freddie under one roof.

Regulators’ efforts to strengthen the oversight of the shadow U.S. banking system, which plays an important role in mortgage-backed securities financing, appear to be paying off.

Two recent and largely unrelated developments have renewed attention to two recurring post-downturn themes that persist even though the bubble’s bursting is receding further into the rear-view mirror, namely: The potential for heightened buyback sensitivities and for covered bonds to make more inroads domestically.

The nation’s megabanks are continuing to sit on their nonperforming residential loans, although some are currently out in the market with mid-sized packages.

The working group investigates potential false or misleading statements, deception or other type of misconduct when mortgage-backed securities are created and sold.

The Federal Reserve Board this week released the last details of how two mortgage servicers—Citigroup Inc. and HSBC Finance Corp.—plan to fix problems in their home loan servicing and foreclosure processes.

The Supreme Court late this week ruled that federal regulators cannot use RESPA as a price-setting statute to deter lenders and other settlement service providers from charging excessive fees or even “unearned” or bogus fees for which no service is provided.

Fannie Mae hopes to banish banks from any involvement in the purchase of force-placed insurance under a plan to lower the cost of the product.

With more effective outreach to municipalities and better internal processes, servicers can minimize their risks of code violations and stiff penalties, and build stronger relationships with code enforcement departments to protect the condition and value of properties in their portfolios.

The Senate late this week passed a 60-day extension of the flood insurance program, preventing a shutdown of coverage by the beginning of June.

As the Litigation Compliance Law Center explained during a May 10 webinar, it was offering to pay finders' fees to mortgage brokers for recruiting homeowners who themselves paid a $5,000 up-front "retainer" to affiliated attorneys.