Law and regulation

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued a consumer advisory on Thursday warning older consumers about misleading advertisements promoting reverse mortgages.

The CFPB gave little ground in its pledge Wednesday to be "sensitive" to lenders that make a "good-faith effort" to comply with new mortgage disclosure rules that go into effect in August. The agency's statements fell short of a formal grace period that the industry and lawmakers had been demanding.

Rep. Edward Royce, R-Calif., urged fellow House members Wednesday to support a Senate proposal that would make significant reforms to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

As nonbank lenders continue to grow their stake in the mortgage industry, researchers from the Harvard Kennedy School argue that regulatory reforms should come to lower the risk associated with these institutions.

Hundreds of lawmakers from both sides of the political aisle are pushing for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to grant a grace period for banks, credit unions and other lenders to comply with a new mortgage disclosure rule.

Barclays dismissed mortgage-bond trader Yoon Seok Lee over claims that he lied to clients.

Fannie and Freddie's profits depend on having their obligations backed by the U.S. Treasury. Therefore they should have to pay a sensible price for this backstop — just like big banks.

Nonbank servicers selling and buying Fannie and Freddie MSRs must meet new capital and liquidity requirement to transfer servicing.

The Financial Stability Oversight Council is encouraging mortgage agencies to continue clarifying when lenders must repurchase defective loans.

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.