Law and regulation

The proposed legislation for regulatory relief seeks to roll back critical mortgage protections put in place to prevent another housing crisis.

Critics of the regulatory relief bill proposed by Sen. Richard Shelby argue that will endanger the financial system and benefit big banks. But in fact, the changes offer sensible, nonpartisan fixes to some of the biggest problems with the Dodd-Frank Act.

The Rural Housing Service should merge with the Federal Housing Administration to save money and improve service, the head of the Government Accountability Office testified Tuesday.

Lost in the debate so far over Shelby's regulatory relief bill are the significant changes it makes to the housing finance system. It essentially takes consensus elements from multiple past stabs at reform, leaving out the most controversial parts and making future reform far easier.

It's a good idea to raise the asset threshold at which financial institutions are automatically designated as systemically important financial institutions. But Sen. Richard Shelby's proposed legislation for regulatory relief does require one crucial change.

Banks and mortgage firms representing 70% of the New York market will adopt a set of best practices to combat the "zombie properties" afflicting communities throughout the state, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Monday.

Politicians and regulators need to get with the times — for the sake of the housing market and its participants.

The regulatory relief package coming before the Senate Banking Committee Thursday would force the Federal Housing Finance Agency to withdraw the contentious proposal within 30 days.

There are more similarities between the NFL and the mortgage industry than at first meets the eye.

Nomura Holdings Inc. and Royal Bank of Scotland Group should pay $806 million in damages to government-owned mortgage companies over misleading securities pitches, a federal housing agency told a judge.

The multifamily market is heating up as apartment owners and investors refinance in a rush to lock in low interest rates, but caps on government-backed lending programs are threatening to disrupt momentum.

The CFPB's powers to initiate enforcement actions are nearly boundless.

The New York Department of Financial Services has announced new title insurance rates for consumers who refinance their mortgage.

WASHINGTON — A new mortgage disclosure regime due to take effect on Aug. 1 is unlikely to cause closing delays, according to Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Richard Cordray.

Most banks appear to be coping well with the CFPB's ability-to-repay rule for mortgages, but the burden is falling harder on community banks. A new proposal that would allow more small lenders to grant home loans to borrowers with high levels of debt could help.

WASHINGTON — The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau filed a lawsuit on Monday against an Ohio-based loan administrator and its owner for allegedly deceptively marketing services that claimed to save consumers money on their mortgage while any actual savings was offset by high fees.

In response to the guidance offered by one of our commenters recently, Freddie Mac sets the record straight about their review process.

A lot of bankers want on-balance-sheet mortgages declared ultrasafe under federal rules, and Wells Fargo executive Brad Blackwell explains why he thinks it's in their self-interest more than ever to live up to their arguments in favor of such a policy.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Department of Justice are taking a renewed interest in redlining, the practice of lenders charging more for products or excluding altogether minorities within certain geographic areas — and their findings may be surprising.

Most title professionals will be prepared when the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau implements its TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure rule on Aug. 1, according to the American Land Title Association.