Law and regulation

The Federal Housing Finance Agency won't keep renewing initiatives like the Home Affordable Refinance Program in perpetuity, even if it is extended again before it expires in December, Director Mel Watt said Wednesday.

Compliance with data security requirements can be affected by the layout of your office.

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Richard Cordray said a review of its "qualified mortgage" rule will allow enough time to consider changes if lawmakers fail to make progress on housing finance before a key deadline.

An overlooked issue in the plan to reform Federal Home Loan bank membership could inadvertently jeopardize the local focus of the system by allowing insurance companies to apply for membership in any of the 12 districts.

The concept that lenders need to have systems in place to affirmatively detect and redress problems before consumers are affected is very real and lenders should ensure their systems are up to the task.

Morgan Stanley said New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman intends to sue the company, alleging it misrepresented or omitted information when underwriting 30 subprime securitizations.

From new compliance scorecards to rethinking how to deal with consumer complaints, there's plenty to debate about the future of servicing. Here's a look at the most insightful and noteworthy discussions from this year's Mortgage Bankers Association servicing conference.

Having the extra time for implementation has been helpful because mortgage companies were experiencing difficulties meeting the first deadline for the change in procedure, which affects government-insured reverse mortgages.

Although lenders received some good news via Freddie Mac's February U.S. Economy and Housing Market Outlook, raising the enterprise's 2015 originations forecast from $1.2 trillion to $1.3 trillion, the Aug. 1 TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure rule implementation deadline still looms large.

Ocwen Financial Corp., the mortgage servicer under attack for its handling of home loans, is being fired from overseeing debt backing two bond deals, according to notices sent to bondholders.

The rate of delinquencies of 90 days or more has trended downward since 2009, but servicing costs have generally been rising, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. That is not the way it used to work.

The Federal Housing Administration's recent premium reduction is undercutting the private sector and expanding the government's role in the housing market, housing finance industry representatives told a House subcommittee on Thursday.

Working as a team with all stakeholders is the only way to successfully maintain a foreclosed property and see it through conveyance to the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Some nonbanks feel capital requirements discourage diversification among market participants and their participation in the market because they put more constraints on their financial options and bar smaller players.

Since one out of every five households belongs to an HOA, lenders and servicers must understand the necessary rules and regulations and exercise extreme caution when processing these delinquent properties.

Problems related to loan servicing dominate the consumer complaints about mortgage companies made to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, but an agency official expressed optimism about the industry's response to these grievances.

Panelists at the MBA's mortgage servicing conference said that the best way for servicers to keep federal regulators off their backs is to be responsive consumer complaints. And if a state attorney general or regulator come knocking, it’s best to be responsive and cooperative.

ClosingCorp, a resident real estate closing cost data and technology provider, has released Lumen Risk Management Suite, a group of services that help lenders manage the closing process.

The Mortgage Bankers Association's annual servicing conference opened with a plea from Quicken Loans CEO Bill Emerson for executives to remember their duty beyond collecting loan payments from borrowers.

Analytics provider CoreLogic has designed a suite of new tools aimed at helping loan servicers provide servicemember customers with the benefits they are entitled to.