Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac processed a surge in mortgage-backed securities issuance during the fourth quarter of 2010, but current indicators suggest the production boom is already fading. The two GSEs issued $331.5 billion in single-family MBS during the final three months of the year, a 32.6 percent increase over the third quarter. It was...[Includes one data chart]

Compliance experts see 2011 as a watershed year for the mortgage industry as it enters a new phase of financial regulation never before experienced by loan originators, mortgage servicers and other industry participants. The year begins...

The Federal Reserve Board staff’s verbal interpretation of the loan originator compensation rule is greatly appreciated but mortgage lenders would rather have those opinions and advice in writing, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. Meetings between members and officials of the MBA and Fed staff regarding...

Mortgage lenders are supporting proposed federal curbs on consumers’ right to rescind an illegal loan but consumer groups and state enforcement officials say loss of this legal weapon could weaken protections against abusive practices. A broad coalition of consumer and civil rights groups, state and local legal services providers, and public interest attorneys strongly urged...

In March 2010, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division issued Administrator’s Interpretation (AI) No. 2010-1, an analysis which found that mortgage loan officers do not fall under the scope of the administrative exemption from overtime pay and therefore should be...

Mortgage servicers could find themselves under federal supervision in the future as a push for nationwide mortgage servicing standards gained momentum among industry participants, academics, state regulators and the Obama administration. In recent joint comments to federal regulators, academics and mortgage industry experts called...

Two states that have suffered a great deal from the foreclosure crisis, Arizona and Nevada, on the same day filed lawsuits against Bank of America – the subject of numerous investor lawsuits and state and federal investigations into its mortgage servicing practices. Attorneys general in every state are...

Illinois. Brent Adams, secretary of the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation has issued a nine-point “affidavit-preparation expectations” plan to fix the sloppy foreclosures in the state. The plan was prepared...

Department of the Treasury BCFP Senior Executives Named. The Treasury Department announced Dec. 15 three more senior executives hired to implement the fledgling Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection. They include Richard Cordray, currently Ohio’s attorney general, who was named...

CoreLogic’s Fraud Index estimates fraud losses for 2010 to be $11 billion, down from $14 billion in 2009. While the probable rate of fraud has increased by 20 percent due to highly risky government loan programs, actual fraud losses are lower because origination volume is...