Enforcement

A former court clerk in Illinois has been indicted for accepting a cash bribe, in exchange for creating a forged deed on a home.

Lenders and vendors found no bad surprises in the Truth in Lending Act/Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act integrated disclosure exam guidance, but it didn't clarify much industry confusion either.

Ocwen Financial said it expects to report a loss in its current fiscal year, as it continues to cut costs amid an investigation of its practices.

License numbers for loan officers, real estate agents and settlement agents will be required on one of the new TILA-RESPA integrated disclosure forms, raising questions about whether they could trigger investigations of possible illegal marketing services agreements.

American International Group won a decision that narrowed the claims by six investment funds that opted out of a $970.5 million class-action settlement last year over allegations the insurer misled investors about its exposure to subprime mortgages.

Evans Bancorp in Hamburg, N.Y., has agreed to pay $825,000 to settle a lawsuit that accused the company of mortgage redlining.

The Justice Department's announcement that it would target individual executives at banks and other companies that are being investigated for wrongdoing has sparked a debate about whether the move is actually substantive or instead just designed to boost the agency's public image.

Three former Nomura Holdings Inc. traders pleaded not guilty to charges that they defrauded investors by inflating the prices of mortgage-backed securities in the wake of the U.S. financial crisis.

Three former Nomura Holdings Inc. traders were charged with defrauding investors by inflating the prices of mortgage-backed securities, the latest cases to come out of a U.S. crackdown on deceptive sales practices in the market for complex bonds.

Two top Justice Department and CFPB officials said this week that they are seeing more instances of redlining and lenders steering minority borrowers into higher cost loans.

About a fifth of the $163 million in credit Citi has earned under terms of the 2014 settlement would be considered extra credit. Citi can earn extra credit by doing things such as completing loan modifications early or reducing loan-to-value ratios below certain levels.

The Federal Housing Administration is re-issuing a loan certification proposal that has sparked industry concerns that it will make it easier for the Justice Department to sue lenders when they file claims for agency-insured loans that go into default.

M&T Bank has agreed to pay $485,000 and change its lending policies to settle a lawsuit that accused the Buffalo, N.Y., company of racial discrimination in making mortgage loans.

Bank of America has settled a national class-action lawsuit brought by former employees who claimed they weren't paid for overtime work.

As marketing services agreements increasingly fall out of favor, a more level playing field may emerge where loan officers must aggressively compete on their skill and service to win referral business.

Two Florida men have been sentenced for their roles in a mortgage fraud scheme that resulted in about $24 million of losses for several financial institutions, including M&T Bank in Buffalo, N.Y.

A Virginia woman has pleaded guilty to leading a mortgage-fraud ring that victimized hundreds of Hispanic residents in the northern part of the state and caused millions of dollars in losses for lenders.

Nothing touches off an argument more than questions about whether the CFPB will allow any marketing services agreements to continue. Some mortgage lenders say no and are winding down their agreements, others insist regulators can be satisfied, and still others are just plain confused.

The only thing more ominous than a CFPB investigation is when the FDIC and OCC join in on the action.

Banks that sold faulty mortgage-backed securities right before the crisis have suffered a string of legal defeats over the timing of government lawsuits, but some experts believe the industry may still have a shot in the Supreme Court.