The Trump Administration’s proposed budget for FY2018 includes a $6.2 billion cut to programs falling under the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
PHH Corp. and related parties again made a full defense of their position in their legal struggle with the CFPB over alleged misconduct under the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act.
The volume of home mortgages outstanding continued to grow during the final three months of 2016, no thanks to the commercial banking industry. Recently released data from the Federal Reserve show $10.266 trillion of mortgage debt outstanding at the end of last year. That was up 0.7 percent for the quarter and reflected a 2.3 percent gain for the full year. The market still has a long way to go to catch up to the $11.240 trillion of mortgage debt outstanding at the end of 2007, but growth has been steady since bottoming out in mid-2014. The agency market continued...[Includes two data tables]
A recent decision by a federal judge in Detroit dismissing portions of the Department of Justice’s FHA-related claims against Quicken Loans will shrink the lender’s liability under the False Claims Act, according to a legal expert. In a decision rendered March 9 on the closely watched case, U.S. District Judge Mark Goldsmith narrowed the scope and timeframe for which the DOJ can pursue any recovery or settlement against Quicken Loans for FHA losses allegedly due to faulty underwriting and loan default performance. It is the first major decision since the DOJ’s suit was transferred from federal court in Washington, DC, to federal court in Detroit last year. The DOJ and the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Office of the Inspector General began...
The three major credit bureaus plan to exclude two critical pieces of negative information from their reports, which may make it easier for some borrowers to qualify for a mortgage. Many tax liens and civil judgments, which can weigh down a credit score, will be removed. As part of a multi-year plan to alleviate incorrect information, on July 1, Equifax, Experian and Transunion will apply new public record standards when it comes to collecting and the timely updating of civil judgments and tax liens, the Consumer Data Industry Association said this week. The new standard will apply...
Nearly all of the discussion related to the ongoing legal battle between PHH Corp. and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has involved either questions about the bureau’s interpretation and enforcement of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act or issues having to do with the constitutionality of the CFPB. But the role played by the administrative law judge early in the bureau’s enforcement action has surfaced, with potential significance in the eyes of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, which recently granted the agency’s request for a rehearing by the full court. To adjudicate the matter early on, the CFPB borrowed...
A borrower seeking cancellation of private mortgage insurance prevailed last week in a lawsuit against JPMorgan Chase. The appeals court noted that federal law regarding standards for MI cancellation overrides Fannie Mae’s servicing guidelines. The case of Ginnine Fried v. JPMorgan Chase centers on how to calculate a borrower’s loan-to-value ratio when allowing for MI cancellation after the LTV ratio falls below 80.0 percent. The borrower filed...
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