Law and regulation

Lenders hope to earn bigger profits by originating loans that fall outside the qualified mortgage guidelines, for which they can charge borrowers significantly higher interest rates, but legal risks remain.

The massive growth of nonbank mortgage servicers poses risks to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, according to a report from the Federal Housing Finance Agency's inspector general.

New View Mortgage settles with New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman for $12,500.

U.S. Bancorp previously disclosed potential claims tied to the probe and “cooperated fully with the DOJ,” the company said.

As home prices rise and municipalities scrounge for revenue, rising property taxes make it harder for loan applicants to meet regulatory debt-to-income ratio limits and increase default risk on existing mortgages.

Loan officers have traditionally been on an island with borrowers, with little management involvement in an originator’s communications with clients. Increasingly, lenders need to think about systems and/or protocols to ensure that such communications are handled properly.

Private mortgage insurers will be required to have master policies that meet new guidelines in place by Oct. 1, according to announcements this week from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Treasury Secretary Lew said he would direct senior staff to bring together MBS investors and issuers to develop guidelines to reassure both sides they won’t be saddled with unfair losses.

The Senate Banking Committee approved Julian Castro, the mayor of San Antonio, on Wednesday to head the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

In light of new regulations, servicers need to take a fresh look at their servicing file tools, processes, policies and procedures.

The regulator of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will conduct a series of town-hall events to convince hundreds of thousands of U.S. borrowers with little or no equity in their homes to refinance.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac suffered "significant financial harm" from "excessively-priced" force-placed insurance, an inspector general's report says, advising their regulator to assess whether to sue banks and insurers for damages.

Wholesale lenders are capping broker compensation at 2.75%, below the CFPB's 3%, adding another "overlay" above and beyond regulatory requirements. Some say borrowers are being shut out as a result.

The CFPB has opened a back door by accusing a lender of engaging in unfair and deceptive acts in connection with originating loans that the borrowers could not "afford."

The move is the latest in a series of reforms to the government-insured Home Equity Conversion Mortgage, eliminating product features deemed to threaten the soundness of the FHA insurance fund.

Bank of America failed to win dismissal of two government lawsuits in which it’s accused of misleading investors about the quality of loans tied to $850 million in residential mortgage-backed securities.

The House Financial Services Committee approved legislation Friday to extend and modify the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act.

A proposal to extend and modify the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act divided the House Financial Services Committee down party lines on Thursday, and signaled the battle lines that are likely to arise when the issue is worked out between the House and Senate.

The guidance aims to protect Home Equity Conversion Mortgage borrowers from "presentations that appear to limit their options," the agency says.

The confluence of trends is making efficient portfolio and vendor management vital.