Some top compliance attorneys are optimistic that the CFPB under Acting Director Mick Mulvaney, or another President Trump appointee, will provide greater regulatory relief and clarity for lenders, and an easing of enforcement activity. Included in that mix could well be a return to the more traditional interpretation the Department of Housing and Urban Development had for the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act. Gerald Sachs, formerly senior counsel for policy and strategy at the bureau and now a partner with the Venable law firm in Washington, DC, told Inside the CFPB recently he anticipates that “mortgage rules would be amended or revised to lessen the regulatory burden, clarify industry concerns or issues, and allow more access to credit.” In addition, ...

It’s likely that mortgage lenders and servicers will get some degree of consideration and accommodation from the CFPB during the Trump administration, thanks to some reviews the bureau is required to make of its major rulemaking as per the Dodd-Frank Act. “The Dodd-Frank Act requires the CFPB to look back and conduct an assessment of each significant rule not later than five years after its effective date,” said former CFPB official Benjamin Olson, now a partner in the Washington, DC, office of the Buckley Sandler law firm, during a webinar last week sponsored by Inside Mortgage Finance. The purpose of this assessment is to look at the effectiveness of the rule in meeting its purposes and objectives under the statute ...

The CFPB is Still Open, Government Shutdown and Mick Mulvaney Notwithstanding. Much of the federal government in Washington, DC, is back in shutdown mode, after last-minute budgetary brinkmanship on Capitol Hill failed to keep the requisite funds flowing. ... Cordray to Face Kucinich in Contest for Democrat Nomination for Ohio Governor. Former Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-OH, recently filed paperwork with the Ohio Secretary of State’s office officially declaring his candidacy for the Democrat nomination for governor, an indication that former CFPB Director Richard Cordray will face plenty of opposition for the position....

The bulk market was dominated by New Residential Mortgage…

Compliance attorneys strongly suggested now is not the time for mortgage companies to let their guard down.

The Money Source wants to hire 134 retail loan officers this year and 60 account executives…

Redwood said profit margins exceeded its "long-term expectations" of 75 to 100 basis points...

Several other MSR packages are expected to hit the market in the coming weeks…

HUD tells the mortgage industry: “Due to the federal government shutdown, the information on this website may not be up to date…”

Consumer complaints to the CFPB about mortgage-related issues are on the verge of a free-fall, with volumes dropping by double digits, quarterly and annually, in every category tracked, according to a new analysis and ranking by Inside the CFPB. For starters, total gripes fell 15.9 percent from the third quarter of 2017 to the fourth quarter, and by 27.8 percent year over year. Digging into specific kinds of complaints, criticisms about loan modifications mirrored those trend lines, dropping 15.3 percent from 3Q17 to 4Q17, and by 29.2 percent on an annual basis. When it came to mortgage servicing, consumer kvetching was on a parallel track, down 13.0 percent and 26.4 percent, quarter over quarter and year over year, respectively. In ...