The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau remains a hot topic on Capitol Hill, especially among Republican lawmakers who think it’s got far too much power and far too little accountability. House Financial Services Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee Chairman Randy Neugebauer, R-TX, recently wrote to Treasury Special Advisor Raj Date, seeking a “detailed account of how the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has spent the funds that have been transferred to it by the Federal Reserve, and CFPB’s plans for those funds that have been transferred but not yet spent.”

The Obama administration began the week with a media blitz to drum up support for the presidentfs embattled nominee to head up the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Richard Cordray, as a vote by the full Senate on his nomination could come on Thursday, Capitol Hill sources indicate.Sunday evening, the White House released a report warning of the dangers American consumers face in the financial marketplace without a director at the helm.gWithout a director, Americans will not be protected from falling prey to many of the harmful practices that contributed to the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression,h the report said. gEvery day that the CFPB goes without a director is another day that American families remain at risk.h

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency provided a status update on the efforts that 12 bank and thrift mortgage servicers are making to comply with the foreclosure practice consent orders they were issued in the spring, a review that documents the extent to which servicing reforms are being implemented.As such, the document may foretell some of the kinds of industry “best practices” that will form the basis of national servicing standards one day.For example, each servicer has established policies and procedures for providing single points of contact to assist borrowers throughout the loan modification and foreclosure processes.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is seeking public input on its plans to collect information about legal actions filed by state officials under authority granted in Section 1042(a) of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. This section of the law grants state attorneys general and state regulators the authority to bring legal actions against financial institutions to enforce provisions of Title X of Dodd-Frank and its implementing regulations. Back in July, the CFPB put out an interim final rule laying out the notification procedures regarding state legal action taken. The interim final rule establishes that notice should be provided at least 10 days before the filing of an action, with certain exceptions, and sets forth a limited set of information which is to be provided with the notice.

In a move that further complicates the 50-state settlement discussions between the mortgage servicing industry and state attorneys generals, Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley, D, has sued a handful of top mortgage lending banks for allegedly pursuing illegal foreclosures and “deceptive loan servicing.”The targets of Coakley’s actions are Bank of America, Wells Fargo, JP Morgan Chase, Citi and GMAC, as well as Mortgage Electronic Registration System, Inc.“The single most important thing we can do to return to a healthy economy is to address this foreclosure crisis,” Coakley said. “Our suit alleges that the banks have charted a destructive path by cutting corners and rushing to foreclose on homeowners without following the rule of law. Our action today seeks real accountability for the banks’ illegal behavior and real relief for homeowners.”

Banks significantly increased their non-agency jumbo originations even before the high-cost conforming loan limit was lowered in October, with jumbo originations outpacing overall originations during the period. A number of lenders large and small continue to see opportunities in the jumbo space, though securitization is likely to remain limited in the near-term. Some $27.0 billion in non-agency jumbos were originated in the third quarter of 2011, according to estimates by affiliated publication Inside Mortgage Finance ... [Includes one data chart]

Bank of America and Wells Fargo continued their dominance of the FHA servicing market, accounting for 55.1 percent of the business as of Sept. 30. Of the 1,177,858 FHA-insured loans currently being serviced, 16.91 percent are in various stages of delinquency. Seriously delinquent loans – 90 days or more behind on their mortgage payments – comprised ... [includes one chart]

The seasonally adjusted delinquency rates for single-family FHA and VA mortgage loans fell in the third quarter of 2011 as did those for all other first-lien residential mortgages covered by the Mortgage Bankers Association’s National Delinquency Survey. According to the survey, the third quarter saw a 45-basis point drop – from 8.44 percent to 7.99 percent – from the previous quarter in overall delinquencies on a seasonally adjusted basis. For FHA loans, the rate declined 53 bps to 12.09 percent from 12.62 percent, while VA’s rate fell 47 basis points to 6.58 percent from 7.05 percent. On a year-over-year basis, the seasonally adjusted delinquency rate decreased ...

President Obama has signed legislation returning funding fees for VA loans to their pre-Nov. 18 levels. The fees specified in H.R. 674, the 3 Percent Withholding, Repeal and Job Creation Act of 2011, are valid through Sept. 30, 2016. Signed on Nov. 21, the bill ends industry confusion over the amount of fees lenders should charge borrowers since the Department of Veterans Affairs, in a case of bad timing, issued new regulations in September to lower the fees. This was before Congress announced its intention to introduce legislation that will extend the higher fees through 2016. Under updated guidance issued by ... [includes one chart]