Compliance

The Federal Reserve Board this week began soliciting public comments on a proposed rule that would give mortgage lenders two ways to show they have sufficiently vetted a consumer's "ability to repay" a mortgage.

The Federal Trade Commission has mailed 1,410 refund checks totaling an estimated $2.3 million to consumers allegedly defrauded by Home Assure LLC, a so-called mortgage foreclosure rescue service.

A developer is suing Bank of Utah for allegedly participating in a fraudulent scheme relating to a $5 million construction loan.

A Hartford, Conn., jury has found four more individuals guilty of multiple federal offenses related to their participation in an extensive mortgage conspiracy that defrauded lenders of more than $3.2 million.

On April 8, FIRST AMERICAN MORTGAGE TRUST OF BROOKLINE, MASS., and the Federal Housing Administration's Mortgagee Review Board announced a settlement agreement for failing to fully verify whether borrowers could sustain their mortgage payments prior to refinancing their loans.

The mortgage insurance industry hopes that banking regulators recognize the value of their product when finalizing their ‘qualified residential mortgage’ test -- but so far their pleas have fallen on deaf years.

For the first time in 13 years, Georgia won't be among the top ten states for mortgage fraud when LexisNexis releases its annual MARI fraud index on May 2.

CoreLogic’s FinalCheck suite of quality control software is now accessible from the Ellie Mae loan origination system.

A year-long undercover investigation by four housing organizations revealed that fraud practices are prevalent within the servicing industry as one in nine homeowners nationwide are more than 90 days behind in their mortgage payments.

CoreLogic is allowing lenders and credit grantors a free 30-day trial to use its IncomeAdvisor tool that detects income fraud during the origination process.According to CoreLogic data, income fraud accounts for 23% of mortgage fraud.

The Federal Reserve Board does not want to back down on its loan officer compensation rule despite congressional requests and industry lawsuits to delay the April 1 effective date. The FRB has taken a hard line on compliance issues and repeatedly rejected industry proposals that would allow more flexibility.

Montgomery County Employees FCU announced it is now offering members a HarmonyLoan mortgage, which adjusts its interest rate at the member’s call.

Spring is a great time of year to rekindle hope for things gone astray.On a recent trip to Dallas, the sun was shining and signs of springtime were beginning to show.

A former branch manager at Nickleoid Employees Credit Union, LaSalle, Ind., has pleaded guilty to embezzling tens of thousands of dollars by adding numbers to her own home equity loan to obtain an additional credit of $163,585.

Taylor, Bean & Whitaker's former chairman and CEO, Lee Farkas, ordered data sent to its warehouse lender, Colonial Bank, for nonexistent mortgages in an effort to cover up growing deficits, an ex-president testified in court this week.

The former chief executive of Taylor, Bean & Whitaker Mortgage, Paul R. Allen, admitted to his role in what prosecutors say was a $1.9 billion fraud that included attempts to deceive the federal bank bailout program.

Mortgage fraud risk is highest in areas with the greatest amount of foreclosures, according to the annual mortgage fraud risk report developed by Interthinx.

Jo’Mell Thomas pleaded guilty in District of Connecticut Court to conspiracy to commit wire fraud from his participation in a mortgage fraud scheme.

A lawsuit filed Monday in Hennepin County District Court in Minnesota by Attorney General Lori Swanson alleges that Meredian Financial Corp. of Costa Mesa, Calif., pretended to be homeowners' current mortgage company in order to gain their trust, then collected fees for refinancing services that were not delivered.

Clayton Holdings LLC this week announced that it has hired a team of structured finance professionals to run a new independent financial analysis and consulting group focused on providing litigation support and valuation services to players in the residential MBS market.