Compliance

The Department of Housing and Urban Development indefinitely debarred three Florida loan officers and a Pittsburgh title agent following their criminal convictions for defrauding elderly borrowers, mortgage lenders and the Federal Housing Administration.

Joseph Smith, the man responsible for ensuring that five of the nation's largest banks comply with the massive multi-state mortgage servicing settlement, has a stark message for the five banks involved: make sure your internal review teams are independent and thorough.

In a major setback for credit unions and banks, the Internal Revenue Service approved new rules that require depositories to report interest payments to nonresident aliens, starting in 2013.

Until not too long ago eWarehouseOne had a policy: if a firm didn't pass the application review stage, the company would return the mortgage banker's money. At least that's what company vice president Anthony Simich told National Mortgage News last month.

Single point of contact requirements for servicers aren’t just another compliance burden, they’re an opportunity for improved margins and lower loss severity, according to Craig Focardi, a senior research director at consulting firm TowerGroup.

New issue, private-label MBS backed by either recent vintage or seasoned loans funded since the downturn have generally had some type of mechanism to enforce and/or clarify parameters for repurchases, a Moody's Investors Service analyst told National Mortgage News.

In order to for any long-term economic recovery for the country, Peter Kassabov, chairman and CEO of Digital Risk, said it is important for companies to invest in and train their employees in order to remain in compliance with federal regulations.

As vacant properties rise across the country, code compliance is an ongoing challenge within the housing industry that servicers, property preservation companies and Realtors have to battle on a daily basis.

As Richard K. Davis sees it, the biggest remaining regulatory costs might be bottles of Tylenol for the compliance team. Though the Volcker Rule and other Dodd-Frank Act regulations are still being finalized, the outstanding risks will be manageable if not clerical, the chairman and chief executive of U.S. Bancorp (USB) said.

Most financial institutions would probably say that the National Labor Relations Board is the least of their worries. That may be changing.

The residential mortgage division of Ally Financial Inc. missed a scheduled payment on its debt Tuesday, laying the ground work for an eventual default if the payment is not made up quickly.

A Consumer Financial Protection Bureau proposal would protect certain information banks provide to the agency, but one prominent group is claiming CFPB doesn't have a right to the information in the first place.

Some regulators are using the state-run National Mortgage Licensing System to ride herd over more than just the mortgage business.

Anthony J. Simich, a division vice president for eWarehouseOne, resigned from the firm late last week, telling National Mortgage News that the company is having trouble closing lines of credit.

Loan originator compensation rules were originally adopted by the Federal Reserve Board in September 2010 and covered institutions were required to comply with the provisions on April 6, 2011.

If the natural disasters experienced across the nation in recent years are any indication of what the future holds in terms of weather-related catastrophes, securing residential insurance, even at a premium price during these difficult economic times is an important step for all homeowners.

The foreclosure crisis is loosening the traditionally strong tie homeowners have with their homes. New findings from FICO's latest quarterly survey of bank risk professionals indicate one way the slow recovery will affect distressed homeowners in 2012 is increased propensity for "strategic default."

When the topic is principal reduction the glass is either half full or half empty. Yet, if mounting pressure on government sponsored enterprises and their conservator results in a green light to writedowns on GSE loans as everyone expects, such a solution will also require the approval and financial support of the department of treasury.

JPMorgan Chase (JPM) reclassified $1.6 billion of mortgages as nonperforming loans at the urging of regulators - even though the loans are still in good shape, executives said Friday.

The risk for mortgage fraud in the areas of employment and income rose last year, according to Interthinx.