Compliance

Several large Wall Street firms that played a key role in financing nonprime lenders this week asked a federal judge to dismiss a nearly $2 billion civil fraud lawsuit filed by the trustee of Thornburg Mortgage, the now defunct jumbo/super jumbo lender.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency is still falling short when it comes to keeping a watchful eye on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Dallas County District Attorney Craig Watkins this week filed suit against MERSCORP, seeking a judicial determination of whether the industry's use of the Mortgage Electronic Registration System is legal in the Lone Star State.

BuildFax and DataVerify have come together to create an automated solution that confirms if a proper appraisal was conducted for newly constructed properties.

The housing finance sector will have to wait until next year for the final rule on what constitutes a 'qualified residential mortgage,' the unofficial head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau told a regulatory forum in Washington.

The chief author of the Dodd-Frank Financial Reform Act took exception to what he called "the revolt against risk retention," saying requiring originators to hold 5% of the loan amount on their books is "one of the central things we did in the bill."

Eight years ago a Bear Stearns research report on the mortgage insurance industry warned of a grave threat: In exchange for steering home buyers to the insurers, mortgage lenders were demanding unjustifiably lucrative reinsurance deals.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development wants All American Home Mortgage Corp. to indemnify the Federal Housing Administration against future losses on five loans that were endorsed for more than $1 million that violated industry guidelines and reimburse the agency $181,515 for associated fees paid on one loan that had underwriting deficiencies.

Mike Perry, who led IndyMac Bancorp until its collapse in 2008, is trying to rehabilitate his image, waging a public campaign rarely seen from an executive of a once high flying mortgage lender.

The California Department of Real Estate has revoked the broker license of Bic Pho along with his affiliated corporations Mariposa Mortgage and Vision Quest 21 for multiple acts of mortgage fraud involving the use of straw buyers and falsified loan applications.

The former chairman and commissioner of the Bergen County Improvement Authority who was also a principal in the mortgage brokerage firm Residential Mortgage Corp. recently pleaded guilty for his involvement in a mortgage fraud scheme that falsely claimed company employment for numerous mortgage borrowers.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development wants All American Home Mortgage Corp. to indemnify the FHA against future losses on five loans that violated agency guidelines.

The Department of Labor Wednesday ordered Bank of America to rehire and pay $930,000 to a former mortgage employee improperly fired in a whistleblower case tied to Countrywide Financial Corp., the troubled lender bought by the bank in 2008.

Trends in the title insurance market show that while business is still strained, the tension is lessening and companies with strategic vision can begin to capitalize on the opportunities at hand, according to a new report from Demotech.

A federal judge this week ruled that the court-appointed trustee overseeing the liquidation of Thornburg Mortgage, Santa Fe, can move forward with a lawsuit against Barclays Capital alleging the investment banker made improper margin calls that helped drive the jumbo lender/servicer into bankruptcy.

Risk mitigation providers Equifax and Interthinx are enhancing their existing relationship by providing financial institutions real-time information regarding an individual's current employment and income status to pay for their loan.

Four individuals have been indicted for engaging in a scheme to defraud Wilmington Trust Federal Savings Bank and Malvern Federal Savings Bank of at least $35.5 million.

On Aug. 29, two men suspected of scamming homeowners struggling to avoid foreclosure will be arraigned in San Bernardino Superior Court on a 45-count criminal complaint.

Former Mortgage Bankers Association chief executive John Courson has joined Treliant Risk Advisors as a senior advisor, a press release from the company said.

As settlement talks continue between the states and the megabanks over the robosigning scandal, some of the nation's largest servicers fear they may have a new item to add to their worry list: civil liability tied to the monthly processing of Federal Housing Administration loans.