Compliance

The U.S. government's 2012 decision to take all the profits from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will get a federal appellate review Friday when investors argue the appropriation was illegal.

Kroll Bond Rating Agency added its voice to the chorus of credit rating agencies downplaying the risks of mortgages that fail to comply with new consumer disclosure rules.

FHFA Director Mel Watt acknowledged that the principal reduction program may seem "too small and too late."

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's pending rule hinging on excessive document collection, when the focus should be on prohibitive privacy laws.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac surged to four-month highs on speculation lawsuits involving the mortgage giants have progressed in a way that favors shareholders.

Quicken Loans plans to appeal a recent federal labor ruling that the Detroit lender and other companies owned by Dan Gilbert violated employees' rights.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau faced hostile questions from two judges during oral arguments before a federal appeals court Tuesday as it sought to argue the constitutionality of its single-director structure in a lawsuit brought by nonbank mortgage lender PHH Corp.

Data breaches have become scarily commonplace. But even small financial institutions can take action to thwart hackers and minimize losses.

Hint: businesses should be focused on data strategy and security, from the individual up to the enterprise level.

Congress should consider giving direct authority over nonbank mortgage servicers to the Federal Housing Finance Agency, according to a report released Monday by the Government Accountability Office. The report said there should be "parity" among financial regulators in the oversight of regulated entities and third parties they do business with.

Goldman Sachs Group will pay $5.1 billion to settle a U.S. probe into its handling of mortgage-backed securities involving allegations that loans weren't properly vetted before being sold to investors as high-quality bonds.

New lender disclosure requirements aren't just disrupting the market for private-label mortgage bonds; they could also impact the market for bonds that transfer credit risk of mortgages insured by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to the private sector.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit will hear oral arguments Tuesday about the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's structure, in a case that has national implications. Even though a ruling isn't expected until the end of the year, legal experts say there are four major legal issues involved.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's experiments with selling credit risk to investors are a critical element of new plan to merge the two entities and move them out of conservatorship, but what form so-called credit risk transfers take could make a big difference.

The co-owner of a mortgage company responsible for a large-scale fraud scheme was sentenced to 21 months in prison in a Newark, N.J., federal court.

The housing market has been improving but mortgage credit remains "stubbornly" tight on loans bought by the government-sponsored enterprises, according to a chief housing adviser at the White House.

Nomura Holdings Inc. held a training session after a former Jefferies & Co. managing director was indicted for fraud and encouraged its traders not to lie — but that didn't stop the fibbing to customers about bond prices, according to U.S. prosecutors.

No-action letters from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau can be an essential tool for lenders in striving to the mortgage process more consumer-friendly through inventive products and service — but lenders must seek them out.

Stuart Delery, the Justice Department official overseeing civil investigations of banks for conduct related to the financial crisis, is stepping down April 14 to explore options in the private sector.

The U.S. Supreme Court's decision last week not to review a mortgage-backed securities lawsuit renewed interest in a long-brewing legal conflict over the mandate of the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act.