Law and regulation

Government officials increasingly encourage looser credit benefiting low- to moderate-income borrowers, but some lenders who make these loans said it's easier said than done. Here's why.

Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro challenged lenders to make more mortgages, saying the credit pendulum has swung too far on the side of caution.

Exclusivity provisions in marketing services agreements are not per se illegal, but their inherent anti-competitive nature and inherent suggestiveness of consumer steering could be a regulatory concern.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency is close to issuing refinements to the government-sponsored enterprises' representation-and-warranty framework that will limit lender liability on buybacks of legacy loans.

If they take control of the Senate next year, GOP leaders may want to show they can get legislative results ahead of the 2016 Presidential election.

• MT Award Winners
• Remembering Steve Fraser
• CFPB eClose Pilot

Changes to representation-and-warranty contracts are also expected to be announced at the MBA Annual.

Mortgage lenders are threatening to halt lending on condominiums in Nevada after the state Supreme Court upheld a law allowing homeowners associations to foreclose ahead of first mortgage holders.

Many lenders think home loans are off-limits for undocumented immigrants because they lack Social Security numbers, but higher-cost loans using borrowers' individual taxpayer identification numbers are available and being made by a handful of firms.

The Obama administration is pushing to ease access to mortgage credit, particularly for first-time homebuyers, but it doesn't appear likely it will employ one of its most readily-available tools.

A mortgage group president expects lenders are going to have to gain market share to grow their businesses over the next year or two.

The U.S. mortgage lending industry will descend upon Las Vegas next week for what promises to be a very big show featuring some very big stars.

A regulatory report released this summer helped fuel hopes that banks were finally beginning to loosen up on making mortgage loans. But since then strategists say there is no evidence that an easing of credit standards is taking place.

Demand for commercial real estate and business loans continued to rebound in many regions of the country over the past six weeks, the Federal Reserve Board said Wednesday.

As the Seattle and Des Moines Home Loan banks inch closer to the first successful voluntary merger in the system's history, observers are beginning to ask which institution will try next.

Key Community Bank's E.J. Burke reflects on the highs and lows of his term as chairman of the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Hard money lenders fear New York watchdog Benjamin Lawsky's investigation into their industry could make the public mistakenly think their business primarily involves making loans designed to fail to homeowners who occupy properties.

To avoid claims of unfair or deceptive acts or practices it is incumbent upon lenders to adopt practices that are unlikely to mislead, regardless of whether the misunderstanding is intentional.

WASHINGTON — Dean Schultz, the long-time head of the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco, is planning to retire next spring once his successor has been appointed, the bank said Friday.

Although the case ostensibly turns on whether loan officers should be paid for overtime, the high court is focused on whether government agencies have the right to substantially change regulations without seeking public comment.