Law and regulation

The agency already has hired 1,500 people, a number of which are enforcement attorneys.

Incoming FHFA director Mel Watt’s postponement of a g-fee increase may mean he is likely to favor expansion of credit over shrinking the GSEs.

Time to Accumulate MSRs? Better find a way to connect with your consumer first.

Steve Calk, chairman and CEO of the Federal Savings Bank and Chicago Bancorp, would make originations much simpler if he were a regulator.

The number of homes in foreclosure fell sharply in 3Q as fewer and fewer borrowers fell behind on their mortgages, according to a report by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.

Improvements in the internal control environment, investments in servicing technology and improved internal audit and Reg AB results led to the ratings changes, according to Fitch.

Many lenders have used a practice of reimbursing certain expenses, such as lead services, contingent on production levels. This practice is, however, potentially unlawful.

There is money from mortgage refinance business coming off the table as that pipeline runs dry.

Next year could mark the return of the first purchase-dominated mortgage market since 2000 if the Federal Reserve’s decision to reduce its bond purchases holds and current forecasts pan out.

Industry groups wanted an extension to assemble data and challenge the agency’s findings.

Once Rep. Mel Watt is sworn in, he wants time to review the hikes mandated by the current Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac regulator.

The question for most companies is do they have enough cash available to pivot to find the next opportunity.

The measure would roll back certain premium increases for up to four years.

The deal would resolve claims that Lender Processing Services falsified documents related to home seizures.

Michael Flood previously was a director in Fannie Mae’s single and multifamily divisions and also oversaw Troubled Asset Relief Program assets for the White House Office of Management and Budget.

A hike in guarantee fees could encourage banks to retain loans they might have otherwise sold to Fannie or Freddie, but observers are skeptical that it will accomplish its true mission of jump-starting the market for private-label mortgage securitizations.

Defining multifamily affordable housing using an existing method fails to account for differences between micro-markets within a region.

The agreements are allowed under the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act as long as certain requirements are met. But the author has never seen one that worked.

While the new regulations implemented by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau are designed to apply primarily to big banks and loan servicers, the regulatory environment for small and community banks will also be transformed.

The governor of New York and the Department of Financial Services have issued proposed regulations to assist homeowners who are underwater.