Compliance

Three people, including a local attorney, have been indicted for allegedly operating a foreclosure rescue scam in Las Vegas during 2008 and 2009.

Selling any big-ticket item involves three steps: getting prospects to hear a pitch, demonstrating the item’s attractiveness and making the argument that it’s worth the price—even when the product is an antibank lawsuit.

A study from Demographia, a St. Louis public policy consulting firm, finds land use regulations have driven costs in some major metropolitan markets so high that new housing has become unaffordable for consumers despite low interest rates, a study from Demographia, a St. Louis-based public policy consulting firm, claims.

Former directors of WesCorp Federal Credit Union on Tuesday urged a federal court to dismiss a civil suit brought against them by NCUA, saying federal regulators were well aware of what the $34 billion-asset corporate CU was up to with its MBS purchases.

First Horizon National Corp. of Memphis late Monday disclosed that it has been subpoenaed by the Federal Housing Finance Agency because of six securitizations involving Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development proposed new regulations to force certain lenders to indemnify or reimburse the Federal Housing Administration for insurance claims paid on mortgages that are found not to meet the agency's guidelines. In addition, HUD's proposed rule would require all new and existing lenders with the ability to insure mortgages on HUD's behalf to meet stricter performance standards to gain and maintain their approval status.

Is there a limit to the maximum number of properties a borrower can finance? What happens when a borrower is trying to refinance his primary residence and has seven mortgages in total on his home and other properties? Find out more here.

Be prepared for Freddie Mac and the Federal Housing Administration to come out with their own loan quality initiatives, said the head of SigniaDocs at the Mortgage Bankers Association’s annual convention in Atlanta.

The Work Number, a service of Equifax, and a source for employment, income and deposit verifications, has launched two new automated products: AuditChek and AccountChek.

A handful of state attorneys general are taking a hard line with mortgage servicers by demanding loan modifications and principal reductions for those borrowers whose rights may have been violated by robo-signing.

The crimes that contributed to historic levels of default may be creeping back into the industry, according to the latest quarterly Mortgage Fraud Risk Report from Interthinx.

In order to prevent fraudsters from flipping properties quickly at high appreciations, lenders will be focused in the coming months and year on putting a stop to “flipping” by putting processes in place to eliminate short-sale fraud.

A handful of state attorneys general are taking a hard line with mortgage servicers by demanding loan modifications and principal reductions for those borrowers whose rights may have been violated by robo-signing.

An investment banking firm is warning federal regulators that a congressional mandate to stop relying on the credit ratings of Standard & Poor's and other agencies could be disruptive to the MBS market and increase capital requirements for depository institutions.

The Federal Home Loan Bank of Seattle entered into a consent order with the Federal Housing Finance Agency late Monday that requires the bank to take certain steps to improve its capital position and its business and operations.

Lenders should face penalties for violating representation and warranty clauses — beyond their obligation to re-purchase the loans — according to an expert in managing risk on mortgage-backed securities.

New regulations pending as a result of the recently enacted Dodd-Frank Financial Reform Act have sparked a mad dash among mortgage lenders to income, employment and asset verification products.

It's time for mortgage originators to draw a line in the sand when it comes to being forced to buy back loans from investors, an industry veteran said at the Mortgage Bankers Association's annual convention in Atlanta.

Housing developer AvalonBay Communities Inc. and partners will pay $2.2 million to settle a two-year-old discrimination case brought by the U.S. Justice Department regarding a bond-financed multifamily project in New York.

Fears of undetected financial reporting fraud feeding into “foreclosure-gate”-type concerns are bringing together insiders worried about their industry’s future.