Law and regulation

The bureau alleges that Republic Mortgage purchased unnecessary reinsurance to earn a profit for mortgage lenders in exchange for referrals.

The Fairholme plan will work regardless of whether Congress decides to provide some form of a government guarantee for mortgage-backed securities.

Fairholme Capital Management has come up with an intriguing plan that seems to mesh with all proposals on the table when it comes to housing finance reform. Here is where it falls in the range of plans for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac currently on the table.

An out-of-court settlement in Mount Holly, N.J., means that the court will not weigh in on whether the controversial legal theory can be used in fair-lending cases.

Mortgage lenders, servicers and banks need to follow how court procedures for admitting evidence are updated when developing technology systems.

Financial regulators acknowledged Thursday that the data they use to determine fair lending violations in certain cases could be improved, but said they would not stop using such information.

The cost of doing a regression analysis has come down. When one compares the cost of a $5,000 analysis to a $12 million settlement, its fairly clear why it pays not to guesstimate.

Will the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau hold the loan officer liable?

Although many borrowers have been lifted above water on their mortgages due to rising house prices, there are reasons to be skeptical that this will generate much additional spending.

Matthew Sweet, the former vice president and controller of One Bank & Trust, allegedly abused his position at the bank to steal approximately $75,000.

Total household indebtedness rose by $127 billion in 3Q13 from the prior quarter, mostly due to rising balances on mortgages, student loans and auto loans.

With the new compliance requirements and rules from government entities including the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau, we have now stepped into the age of a new normal.

Consumer advocates are concerned about lenders shying away from much-needed loans as a result of the new rules.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development for the first time failed to sell some soured mortgages it's auctioning off post-housing crisis, according to sources familiar with the results.

An agreement between the government and the bank over mortgage-bond sales that's silent on taxes would let the company take a deduction and shave 35% off any settlement cost.

The bureau says consumers find assessments confusing and difficult to pay.

Multiple companies have allegedly used borrowers’ maternity/parental leave status to delay or deny loans. This is in violation of the law and alienates a key group of borrowers.

Residential mortgage-backed securities loans originated outside the pending ability-to-repay/qualified mortgage rule’s protections may face higher loss severity assumptions.

FHLB members are wary of nondepositories gaining access to district bank programs.

Bank of America asked a federal court to dismiss a lawsuit brought by the U.S. that accuses the lender of misleading investors about the quality of loans backing $850 million in securities.