Compliance

A new Senate bill proposing to wind down the GSEs by at least 10% a year also includes a provision that would replace the private MERS System with an identical platform run by the Federal Housing Finance Agency -- along with new national standards for mortgage title transfers.

A judge has given the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and former executives at Washington Mutual Bank until yearend to settle civil charges related to the thrift's 2008 failure, raising the likelihood of an out-of-court resolution.

Former Mortgage Bankers Association chief executive John Courson is the new president and CEO of the Home Builders Institute, the workforce development arm of the National Association of Home Builders.

County and state officials are turning up the heat on MERS, as recent lawsuits filed in Florida and Delaware challenge the validity and accuracy of the mortgage industry-controlled loan registry.

Although the chances are slim, the conforming loan limit in a few high-cost housing markets could rise on January 1.

The Obama administration seized on a rare case of bipartisan consensus Thursday — the need for strong consumer protections for members of the military — to pressure Senate Republicans to confirm Richard Cordray as director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Worried that the latest federal efforts to ease foreclosures will fall short, some bankers and community advocates want Washington to offer even more ways to keep borrowers in their homes.

American Securitization Forum Executive Director Tom Deutsch testified Thursday before the capital markets subcommittee of the House Financial Services Committee.

On Oct. 26, charges were expanded against four people accused of making illegal real estate deals that netted more than $11 million, and two defendants have been added to the amended complaint, according to the Fresno County District Attorney's Office.

U.S. District Court for the Central District of California Thursday dismissed a civil claim filed against Lender Processing Services by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., which accused the mortgage vendor of gross negligence in appraisals conducted for the now defunct Washington Mutual, Seattle.

A proposal from the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network would require Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to develop their own anti-money laundering programs as part of an ongoing effort to combat mortgage fraud.

FirstPlus Financial Group Inc., a publicly traded mortgage company in Beaumont, Texas, was illegally taken over through extortion by thirteen individuals, two of whom are linked to the Lucchese organized crime family, according to an indictment filed by the U.S. Department of Justice.

Nearly two-thirds – or 60% – of European CMBS maturing loans could fail to repay by the end of 2012, according to Standard & Poor's.

The New York Supreme Court late Monday denied Countrywide and Bank of America's motion to consolidate various claims against them made by four bond insurers led by MBIA Insurance Corp.

Moody's Investors Service has extended the review period for a possible downgrade of $871 million of outstanding bonds sold by the Idaho Housing and Finance Association while the issuer works on a plan to shore up its balance sheet.

CoreLogic is now offering financial and government institutions a tool that provides them information in order to combat mortgage fraud.

The U.S. Department of Justice Tuesday sued Allied Home Mortgage Capital Corp. and two executives — including founder Jim Hodge — accusing them of fraudulent lending practices tied to hundreds of millions of dollars in government-backed loans.

A Minneapolis broker who helped borrowers tap area credit unions and banks for more than $8 million in mortgages to buy homes at inflated prices was sentenced Monday to 10-and-a-half years in prison.

On Oct. 17, U.S. District Judge Neil V. Wake SENTENCED TALAL ASHEK TO TWO YEARS IN FEDERAL PRISON. Ashek was also ordered to pay over $2.9 million in restitution. Ashek had previously pleaded guilty on Aug. 4 to one count of conspiracy to submit false claims to a lending institution for his role in a mortgage fraud conspiracy.

Fannie Mae Monday morning confirmed to National Mortgage News that its multifamily unit is the subject of an Inspector General probe being conducted by the Federal Housing Finance Agency.