Compliance

Redwood Trust is starting to feel like the Maytag repairman of the jumbo MBS market: it sits all alone with no company.

One of the most surprising questions I get on a regular basis is "Why are you still talking about mortgage fraud? Hasn't it gone away now that property values are declining, lenders are requiring full documentation to support an application, and they are checking with the Internal Revenue Service to verify borrower income?" The short answer is: no.

The Fed's recent report on current conditions and policy considerations in the housing market points to barriers to recovery that have been persisting beyond its sphere of influence despite its stimulus efforts.

Not only has the housing meltdown affected state and local governments, servicers and investors, but homeowner associations too. These associations rely upon property taxes to pay for such services as utilities, trash pickup, snow removal, landscaping, and road and building maintenance, but vacancies have mitigated the number of improvements made in these communities.

Some AMCs are looking at the UAD as an opportunity to revisit quality control processes, updating them and streamlining them where possible. Those AMCs that are not taking advantage of this opportunity should be.

Yesterday news broke from HUD secretary Shaun Donovan that a robosigning deal was imminent. Today, we learn that maybe a deal isn't as close as Donovan portrayed. Then again, the 'State of the Union' address is next week and there is some talk that President Obama wants to mention the robo settlement using the speech as yet another opportunity to bash the mortgage banking industry.

Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan said the ongoing settlement talks between the federal government, state attorneys general, and the nation's largest servicers has produced a "package of programs that we believe will be very positive" for the housing market.

A New York probe has brought national attention to servicers' alleged self-dealing in the sale of force-placed insurance. But the investigation is just one of many looming challenges to the practice.

Mitt Romney has been a key figure in the saga of the nation's financial woes, perhaps more important than any other Republican politician. But much of what he did and said in the early stages of the crisis, including about housing, has been largely forgotten.

As the housing market is still plagued with uncertainty about whether distressed conditions will continue to be seen nationwide, one trade association says the blame for the state of the industry should not be placed against appraisers.

Due to the increasing complexities surrounding the foreclosure process, Nationwide REO Brokers has expanded its services by offering third-party foreclosure review and certification for lenders and servicers.

CUNA Mutual Group this week filed suit against RBS Securities, asking a federal court in Madison, Wisc. to order the Wall Street bank to buy back $72 million of failed residential MBS it sold to the credit union insurer's MEMBERS's Life Insurance Co., and CUMIS Insurance Society units.

The nation's attorneys general, the Department of Justice, and HUD are “very close” to finalizing a legal settlement to settle 'robosigning' allegations levied against the nation's dozen or so top ranked servicers, HUD secretary Shaun Donovan said Wednesday morning.

Freddie Mac hopes to issue more Mortgage Linked Amortizing Notes similar to the one it priced late last week.

The Georgia Department of Banking and Finance recently revoked the license of Citizens First Mortgage Solutions, but Cynthia Rumph, president and owner of the Snellville, Ga.-based brokerage company, has appealed the cease and desist order issued against her company.

Here's a riddle for you: What can you buy at record low prices, that you can't buy at record low prices? Answer: A home. That's right, despite interest rates not seen in nearly 50 years, home sales in the U.S. are sluggish at best. How can that be? Simple really. Most home sales are dependent on mortgage financing, but getting that financing can be a real challenge.

The Mystery of Banking The bank has ten billion this year, But the money is simply not Here--

A few years back when it came to minority housing especially in the largest metropolitan areas the risk of stretching lending too thin was often overshadowed by the benefits of higher rates of homeownership.

Bank risk professionals expect delinquencies on most types of consumer loans to rise, balances on credit cards to grow and global concerns will all affect the nation's economic health, according to a FICO survey.

Two more congressmen have been identified as receiving home mortgages through a Countrywide Financial Corp. program that has prompted a Congressional investigation into whether the now defunct lending giant approved loans on favorable terms to win political favor.