Law and regulation

Brian Moynihan has been in charge of Bank of America for nearly five years, and he has spent most of that time in lawyer mode, overseeing settlements worth $48 billion. He is generally praised for taking the bank to this point, but now comes the hard part: getting B of A to grow again.

Federal Housing Administration Commissioner Carol Galante signaled more affordable FHA financing could be coming as the agency’s insurance fund improves.

A mortgage industry laden with government enticements has no choice but to honor a duty to serve its benefactor's affordable housing goals, claim the contributing authors of a new book.

Bank of America Corp. will pay $245 million to settle U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission allegations that it failed to disclose rising mortgage losses and the risks of bonds tied to home loans.

Bank of America Corp. will pay $16.65 billion to end federal and state probes into mortgage bond sales, the harshest penalty yet related to loans that fueled the 2008 financial crisis, the Justice Department said.

The CFPB's definition does not tell the full story, so real estate agents need to move with caution, no matter what kind of letter a consumer brings from a mortgage loan officer.

Bank of America has agreed to pay $17 billion to settle federal investigators' allegations that it sold shoddy mortgage-backed securities ahead of the financial crisis.

Countrywide Financial Corp. co-founder Angelo Mozilo hasn't escaped the wrath of prosecutors for his company's role in inflating the housing bubble that preceded the financial crisis.

The Securities and Exchange Commission is preparing to serve Ocwen Financial Corp. with its second subpoena in as many months, adding to the already mounting regulatory pressure facing the country's largest nonbank servicer.

The 14-term congressman was a dominating force as House Banking Committee chairman. But the savings and loan deregulation bearing his name tarnished his legislative record, and ethics allegations created a cloud of suspicion that led to his ouster.

The mortgage interest tax deduction is supposed to encourage homeownership among low- and middle-income Americans. But it primarily benefits higher-income taxpayers, according to a new study from the Mercatus Center at George Mason University.

The hot-button topic of what Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac should charge for loan guarantees is emerging as a key issue in reviving a private-label securitization market.

HMDA data provides information regarding home mortgage lending activity, and the proposed CFPB rule appears to significantly expand data reporting requirements for mortgage industry participants.

All employees, including executives, need to be focused on compliance and customer complaints. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is specifically concerned when a company does not appropriately monitor third-party vendors.

One thing lenders often overlook is the manner in which potentially isolated compliance problems can in retrospect be weaved into an elaborate and intentional conspiracy.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency banned banks and mortgage servicers from accepting commissions on force-placed insurance policies issued by affiliated companies. At least one mortgage servicer, Ocwen Financial, has found a way around the ban.

Weather-wise, we're having a relatively placid season. But legal and regulatory developments are a different story when it comes to lender-placed insurance.

Bill Ackman's Pershing Square Capital Management LP sued the U.S. government claiming revised terms of the 2008 bailout of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac cheat investors of the profit from the mortgage-financing entities.

While Fannie Mae should have a smooth transition to a new system, Freddie Mac might find the path more treacherous.

A temporary waiver allowing victims of Hurricane Sandy to finance foundation repairs and elevate their homes with 203(k) mortgages should be made permanent to help lessen the burden of flood insurance requirements, say real estate and flood hazard groups.