Compliance

The Federal Reserve Board is publishing an interim rule amending Regulation Z, which implements the Truth in Lending Act. This interim rule revises further certain requirements of the Mortgage Disclosure Improvement Act of 2008.

The Pennsylvania Department of Banking took 114 enforcement actions, mostly related to mortgage activity, during the fourth quarter of 2010.

Fannie Mae’s latest homeowner outreach program is a website with links to resources and information for borrowers who want to avoid foreclosure.

MDA Lending Solutions launched a suite of mortgage fraud prevention software based on the recommendations that Fannie Mae gave the industry in the Loan Quality Initiative.

Many customer advocates warn that identity theft is a problem for all--more so homeowners to whom such a problem can lead to default or foreclosure--need keep in mind during the year. Spokesperson for the National Foundation for Credit Counseling Silver Spring, MD, Gail Cunningham says that even though identity theft risk is higher during the holidays, customers need to regularly check their credit rating reports and other resources designed to help them avoid having access to credit suspended or compromised.

MDA Lending Solutions launched a suite of mortgage fraud prevention software based on the recommendations that Fannie Mae gave the industry in the Loan Quality Initiative.

Mortgage fraud costs billions every year and despite law enforcement efforts to curb it, the number of cases continues to increase. Various software products help lenders review loan files, monitor borrower trends and track potential problems and now the federal government will begin using some of that same technology in its own mortgage fraud investigations.

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network has now proposed a requirement that NONBANK RESIDENTIAL MORTGAGE LENDERS AND ORIGINATORS, LIKE OTHER TYPES OF FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS, ESTABLISH ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING PROGRAMS AND COMPLY WITH SUSPICIOUS ACTIVITY REPORTS REGULATIONS.

In a letter sent to Ohio judges, the state’s Attorney General Richard Cordray has requested that its courts continue to pay close attention to foreclosure cases that may have affidavits signed by so-called robo-signers and highlighted several Common Pleas courts that have taken action to address the situation.

Industry vendor Kroll Factual Data, Loveland, Colo., said it has started a new technology-based service aimed at helping clients comply with fair credit reporting risk-based pricing regulations that take effect Jan. 1, 2011.

The high upfront fees Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac charge on certain single-family loans still do not "fully cover" all the costs and risks associated with those loan guarantees, according to Federal Housing Finance Agency acting director Edward DeMarco.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has expelled APS Financial Corp., Austin, Texas, and barred its former president and its former broker from the industry in connection with an alleged scheme involving an elderly investor and markups on collateralized mortgage obligations as well as other types of securities.

Allstate Insurance Co. has sued Bank of America to recoup losses suffered from its purchase of over $700 million in Countrywide-issued mortgage-backed securities.

Ally Financial Inc. has agreed to pay Fannie Mae $462 million to settle repurchase demands for breaches of representations and warranties related to whole loans and private-label securities the lender sold the GSE.

On Dec. 8, Maria Quijada Ramirez of Bakersfield, Calif., was arrested at the home of a relative joining her husband and real estate agent daughter who already are in custody and awaiting trial. She was wanted on a $1 million arrest warrant in connection with an alleged $4.1 million mortgage fraud scheme.

Its Mortgagee Review Board has fined WR Starkey Mortgage $223,000 for violations of Federal Housing Administration lending requirements, according to the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Especially in times of crisis debt collectors may not be on customers’ favorite list but once a fraudster takes the place of a legitimate collector customers and their financial services providers are victims of financial abuse.Such risk becomes even higher during an economic crisis where the number of debtors tends to grow.

While mortgage fraud is not at the levels it was during the middle years of this decade, it is still having a large impact on the industry.Figures just released by CoreLogic estimate the fraud loss for 2010 to be $11 billion, down from $14 billion in 2009.

In the new era following the subprime-lending disaster most mortgage lenders are looking more carefully at the implementation of their underwriting and quality control criteria—including the Federal Housing Administration.Citing “serious” underwriting standard violations the FHA Mortgagee Review Board has permanently withdrawn FHA approval of Cambridge Home Capital LLC and is also seeking a monetary penalty of $182,000.

Wells Fargo & Co. on Monday agreed to modify more than $2 billion of risky payment option ARMs from two lenders that the mega bank bought during the last years of the decade: World Savings of Oakland, and Wachovia Corp. of Charlotte.