State regulators

Ocwen Financial Corp.'s loan servicing subsidiary has reached a settlement with the Washington State Department of Financial Institutions' consumer services division over the servicer's practice of using unlicensed offshore companies.

The California State Assembly approved legislation Monday that would expand the rights of a deceased homeowner's surviving loved ones, including widows, widowers and other heirs.

Mortgage lenders can expand their businesses by catering to borrowers who aren't proficient in English, but doing so requires strategic recruiting and hiring and compliance with federal and state regulations.

New York's State Assembly has passed legislation that seeks to address problems related to preforeclosure vacant and abandoned properties.

The California State Senate has approved legislation to expand the rights of widows, widowers and other heirs facing foreclosure following the death of a loved one.

The California Association of Realtors has renewed its push for promised Federal Housing Administration guidance that would make Property Assessed Clean Energy liens subordinate to first mortgage liens.

The House passed a bill Thursday that would authorize state insurance commissioners to approve flood insurance policies for Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and other federally backed mortgages.

The monitor of the Bank of America Mortgage Settlement distributed roughly $89 million Tuesday to legal assistance groups in nine states from a fund for federal tax assistance.

The National Association of Realtors is teaming up with a coalition of environmental groups, taxpayer advocates and insurance companies to push Congress on flood insurance reforms.

Goldman Sachs Group will pay $5.1 billion to settle a U.S. probe into its handling of mortgage-backed securities involving allegations that loans weren't properly vetted before being sold to investors as high-quality bonds.

Oversight of the four largest mortgage servicers' compliance with the national mortgage settlement is officially over, the watchdog overseeing the process said Thursday.

The decision in Yvanova v. New Century Mortgage Corp. has the potential to radically increase the number of lawsuits brought by borrowers, particularly on loans that were pooled into securitized trusts.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has launched a new initiative, called the Fair Housing Enforcement Program, aimed at targeting discrimination in rental and home sale transactions.

HSBC North America Holdings has agreed to pay $470 million to settle allegations it engaged in abusive practices in its mortgage foreclosure, origination and servicing operations.

While marketing services agreements dominated the conversation around compliance in the latter half of 2015, loan officer compensation will be under more scrutiny during 2016.

There are no easy fixes to Nationstar's myriad problems — including a plunging stock price and increased regulatory scrutiny — but Chief Executive Jay Bray says the turnaround starts with a commitment to improving customer service.

Prospect Mortgage, a Sherman Oaks, Calif., nonbank lender, has agreed to pay $10.1 million in borrower restitution and penalties for violating federal and state laws, California's Department of Business Oversight said Thursday.

The government's aggressive (and unsuccessful) prosecution of tiny Abacus Federal Savings Bank stands as one of the oddest episodes of post-crisis era.

The acting head of New York’s Department of Financial Services will step down before the end of the year, giving New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo a run at reshaping a regulator that has levied billions of dollars of penalties against international banks and at times raised hackles in foreign capitals.

Mortgage servicer Ocwen Financial failed four servicing tests in the second half of 2014. Joseph A. Smith Jr., the monitor of the $25 billion national mortgage settlement, said the Atlanta servicer was “beginning to show progress” in complying with terms of the 2012 agreement.