Compliance

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.

Three banks suing MBIA Inc. accused the bond insurer of deliberately withholding damaging financial projections from insurance regulators who were evaluating its transformation.

Credit unions could be hurt by a proposal that would allow Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to write down the principal on millions of underwater mortgages, industry leaders warned this week.

Like many controversies, mortgage lenders' use of force-placed home insurance arose from what was once a well established and unquestioned practice. For many years, homeowners who failed to maintain property insurance could count on their banks buying it for them and passing on the cost.

A lack of comprehensive planning by the Treasury Department and an inability to enlist servicer participation has stymied a federal program that provided billions in borrower assistance to state housing agencies, according to an inspector general's report.

Although Edward DeMarco, the acting director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, did not officially decide whether to allow Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to pursue a broad principal forgiveness program, his remarks last Tuesday left little doubt he would ultimately reject such an approach.

If your Loss Mitigation and REO Departments interact with listing agents in the traditional fashion, then you are enabling fraud.

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."

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau detailed a slew of new mortgage servicing rules last week that it plans to propose this summer, including a call for expanded disclosures for payments and fees and new policies in how banks must handle customer accounts.

Following an undercover investigation that found "disturbing evidence" of discrimination in the management of real estate owned properties in communities of color by a number of undisclosed banks the National Fair Housing Alliance has filed a federal housing discrimination complaint against Wells Fargo & Co. and Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.

Over the last 10 years, $23.7-billion State Employees' Credit Union in Raleigh, N.C. has not had a single mortgage handed back to it by an investor due to poor underwriting.