Compliance

FACTS - On Jan. 30, William Tro Goings of Sacramento, Calif., pleaded guilty in federal court to participating in a conspiracy to commit wire fraud for his role in a mortgage fraud scheme that defrauded a failed Sugar Creek, Mo. bank of more than $8.5 million.

Salt Lake City-based lender Primary Residential Mortgage Inc. has created a new “enterprise risk management” group with the goal of managing risk through the entire loan origination process and ensuring that the company has appropriate monitoring and evaluation policies.

If the GSEs initiated a principal reduction program similar to the one outlined in the robo-signing settlement, roughly 650,000 borrowers could benefit, distressed sales would level off, and home values would “stabilize,” according to Moody's Analytics chief economist Mark Zandi.

In addition to the national mortgage servicing settlement, Nevada has reached a side deal with Bank of America, state Attorney General Catherine Masto announced late Thursday.

The $25 billion 'robo-signing' settlement with the five mega-servicers includes a new set of servicing standards - and a mortgagor's ‘Bill of Rights' - to prevent future processing and foreclosure abuses.

FHA indemnification agreements have been running at an average rate of 1,282 each year for the last seven years, according to a Collingwood Group executive who spoke during a conference call Wednesday afternoon.

A federal judicial panel denied a motion to include the Dallas County district attorney’s lawsuit against Merscorp in the ongoing multidistrict litigation against the private loan registry in Phoenix.

The $26 billion 'robo-signing' settlement with five major servicing banks announced Thursday morning could yield nearly $35 billion in principal reductions, according to Housing and Urban Development secretary Shaun Donovan.

Early Wednesday afternoon it appeared that New York and California would not be part of the 'robo-signing' deal and then - from what we're told - the White House put the full court press on the two, laying out the political ramifications for these two very Democratic states.

California Attorney General Kamala Harris and New York AG Eric Schneiderman Wednesday afternoon joined a multi-state settlement with the top five mortgage servicers, according to sources familiar with the negotiations.

Bank of America Corp. is limiting the number of refinance applications it accepts over the phone, telling borrowers who do not have an existing relationship with the bank that they may have to wait 60 to 90 days before their loan application can be processed, a B of A spokesman said Wednesday.

An industry law firm said Wednesday it has formed its own financial fraud enforcement task force following the recent introduction of the Obama Administration's Residential Mortgage-Backed Securities Working Group.

Here’s a current-day dilemma to ponder: a listing agent lands a new bank-owned listing. Before marketing, the property needs an occupancy check, a clean-out, some minor repairs, and a few other maintenance items. Agent hurries to get the sign in the yard. A week or two passes before the bank approves expenses and determines list price based on BPO and appraisal.

Moments before he was scheduled to make a statement on the mortgage servicing settlement Tuesday night, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman postponed the conference call indefinitely.

The classic 1895 science fiction novel The Time Machine by H.G. Wells allowed travel to the past and future. According to the most recent Case-Shiller study, home prices have now 'traveled' back to 2003 levels. This represents a 3.7% drop in overall prices since November 2011.

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network finalized regulations today by which non-bank residential mortgage lenders and originators will have to follow the same rules as other financial institutions.

Yes, thousands of consumers have been wronged by residential servicers that cut corners on their foreclosure paperwork and decided to 'robo' away their workload. But does a consumer who was in arrears deserve to get his house back? It's a question the general media has yet to ask and at the same time it's a difficult question.

DocX and its founder Lorraine Brown have been indicted by a grand jury in Boone County, Mo. for alleged forgery of mortgage documents used to evict distressed borrowers from their homes.

Ask anyone in the mortgage lending business today—the industry is all about managing risk. Why then, has the mortgage business been the culprit for one of the worst risk failures in our country’s history? Where did the system break down?

commercial real estate exposure was the main reason why bank loans failed in January. Nonperforming loans for commercial real estate comprised $363.5 million of the total $487.7 million for the failed banks.