Law and regulation

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau finalized a contentious policy Thursday allowing customers to describe their banking experiences more fully on the agency's complaint portal.

The U.S. Supreme Court Fair Labor and Standards Ruling will likely revitalize interest from the plaintiffs’ bar regarding FLSA claims against lenders, who continue to struggle with legal compliance on this issue.

From interest rate movements to new disclosures and vendor management challenges, the recent Regional Conference of Mortgage Bankers Associations touched on myriad hot-button topics the mortgage industry faces this year.

There is no guarantee that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will remain profitable in the years ahead, raising the possibility of further draws from Treasury, according to a report from the Federal Housing Finance Agency's inspector general.

A new book by the American Enterprise Institute's Peter Wallison reveals how a government push to lower credit standards brought about the housing crisis — and why a new effort to expand homeownership could inadvertently set the stage for a fresh disaster.

Lending groups are demanding the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau take down its mortgage rate calculator, arguing it is providing misleading information to consumers.

Lloyd's of London and Bankers Insurance Service will now offer errors and omissions insurance for Litigation Guard, an online system which performs compliance checks for non-QM loans.

A recent Supreme Court decision means that one exemption to the Fair Labor Standards Act does not apply to mortgage salespeople, but their employers might still be able to take advantage of other exemptions.

Bipartisan legislation introduced in the Senate this week would make it easier for consumers to secure financing to purchase manufactured housing.

Ed DeMarco, the former chief regulator of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, warned that efforts under the Obama Administration to expand access to credit could risk repeating mistakes that led up to the crisis.

The Federal Home Loan Bank of Indianapolis is again admitting mortgage-investment firms as members, even as the overseer of the government-chartered system of 12 regional lenders considers barring such companies.

Nomura Holdings Inc. will defend claims by a U.S. regulator that it sold defective mortgage-backed securities to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac before the 2008 financial crisis, becoming the first bank to take such a case to trial.

The FHA forward loan program has helped millions of families finance homes and is poised to thrive if untangled from HECM in the MMI. FHA’s ability to serve these families should not be affected by issues associated with the HECM program.

Negative attitudes in Washington toward the mortgage industry are starting to thaw, yet devising Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's exit from conservatorship or charting the future of housing finance reform still will be tough.

Banks can expect to incur higher costs in several areas during the implementation of a settlement agreement to improve the accuracy of credit reports. But they might benefit in the long run by getting better information on borrowers.

Lenders should carefully evaluate their business practices and the importance of an actual pre-approval process in the context of their operations.

Authorities unsealed a 40-count indictment against six individuals who allegedly targeted distressed homeowners with the false promise of loan modification services following the 2008 financial crisis.

Unless we are willing to consider housing policies that reflect the economic conditions young adults in this country are actually facing, we will never solve the problems in U.S. housing markets.

Michael Stegman, a top housing policy adviser, urged regulators on Thursday to bring more private capital into the market, even in the absence of legislative momentum.

The government sweep of profits from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac was defended by the top Treasury Department housing official, who called again for Congress to replace the U.S.-owned mortgage-finance giants.