Enforcement

Sporting a black eye he got while playing basketball, CFPB Director Richard Cordray opened up to credit union executives about another dust-up — the decision to ease qualified mortgage restrictions for small and rural lenders.

NewDay Financial has agreed to a $2 million fine after the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau alleged that the mortgage lender engaged in an improper kickback scheme and used deceptive marketing tactics targeted at veterans.

The Arizona Department of Real Estate has disciplined a number of Tucson real estate agents for trust account irregularities and audit violations, and others for unlicensed real estate activity.

Mortgage fraud risk declined in the third quarter even as property valuation fraud risk increased, according to Interthinx.

When charging fees to borrowers with weaker credit histories, lenders should take great care to describe everything correctly and ensure such fees are not excessive.

Efforts by investors in the government-sponsored enterprises to find a more friendly court to challenge the government's management of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac fell flat in Iowa.

Standard & Poor's $1.5 billion settlement with the U.S. Justice Department, more than a dozen states and the biggest U.S. pension fund today will let the world's biggest rating company move beyond a bruising legal battle, at a steep cost.

President Obama's 2016 budget plan tackled a host of big picture items for mortgages, including Dodd-Frank reform, FHA lending and GSE reform.

Many ask whether there is any such thing as a “safe” marketing services agreement for mortgages. The answer, unequivocally, is yes.

McGraw Hill Financial Inc., the U.S. Justice Department and state attorneys general will announce a $1.4 billion settlement Tuesday over claims that Standard & Poor's inflated ratings on subprime mortgage bonds leading up to the 2008 financial crisis, according to two people with knowledge of the deal.

The California Department of Business Oversight is accepting applications until Feb. 20 from firms or individuals with experience with the California Residential Mortgage Lending Act and California Homeowner Bill of Rights.

In yet another revision of its mortgage rules, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau proposed making it easier for small and rural lenders to make "qualified mortgages." Industry representatives said the changes are poised to make a big difference.

The Federal Housing Administration will make foreclosure protections available to a larger number of surviving spouses of deceased reverse mortgage borrowers.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Thursday proposed a series of regulatory relief measures for small institutions, especially those in rural areas, to help them provide credit while they try to follow the agency's tough mortgage rules.

A judge rejected a bid by the U.S. to put on hold a series of suits by Fairholme Funds and other investors challenging the diversion of profits from Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae to the Treasury.

A California loan broker who defrauded investors of more than $17.4 million has been sentenced to five years in prison.

Consent decrees issued (and not issued) last week demonstrate how having appropriate compliance controls can and will make a major difference in any potential regulatory response.

California's Department of Business Oversight said Friday that it will drop its effort to suspend Ocwen Loan Servicing's mortgage license in California. The Atlanta servicer had failed for more than a year to provide its California regulator with requested information

The consumer bureau and Maryland's AG allege the loan officers received consumer data and other services in return for business referrals.

Hearing arguments in Texas case, Justice Scalia and others were skeptical that the controversial legal theory used in fair housing cases should be invalidated.