The Office of Inspector General for the CFPB has found that the bureau has moved to secure the Data Team Complaint Database, which supports the CFPB’s Consumer Response System (CRS) through which it handles consumer complaints. However, there are several control deficiencies that need to be remedied. “Overall, we found that the CFPB has taken steps to secure the DT Complaint Database in accordance with the Federal Information Security Management Act and the agency’s information security policies and procedures,” the report began. For example, the CFPB has deployed network-level firewalls and intrusion detection systems for the DT Complaint Database. “However, we identified several control deficiencies related to configuration management, access control, and audit logging and review,” the report added. “Specifically, ...

The bank said it is cooperating with the two investigations, which could result in treble damages under The False Claims Act.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District Columbia recently issued a stay against a $109.2 million fine levied by the bureau against PHH Corp. related to the lender’s captive mortgage insurance activities. The bureau had initiated an administrative proceeding against the nonbank lender, accusing it of harming consumers through a mortgage insurance kickback scheme tied to a captive MI. A judge agreed and recommended a penalty of just $6.4 million, which the CFPB ignored and jacked up to $109.2 million, a figure the regulator argued represented all the MI premiums received after July 2008. What startled the industry was the CFPB’s decision to throw out previous guidance from the Department of Housing and Urban Development under which PHH and ...

CFPB Sends Questionnaire to Debt Collection Entities. The CFPB recently sent a questionnaire to a variety of debt collection firms, creditors and service providers in an effort to help the bureau “better understand operational costs and other factors associated with debt collection.” Noting that participation is voluntary, the consumer regulator said industry responses “will inform the bureau’s analysis of the costs and benefits of potential new rules related to debt collection.” The questionnaire asks about basic activities and operational costs of collecting debt, including, for example, questions about vendors used for activities such as dialers or print mailings, maintaining data about consumer accounts, and furnishing information to credit bureaus. “After we have received the questionnaire responses, we plan to reach ...

It doesn’t happen often in the agency MBS market, but Ginnie Mae last month took the yellow jersey away from Fannie Mae. Ginnie issued a record $45.54 billion of single-family MBS in July, the agency’s biggest monthly output ever. That was a 12.6 percent increase from June, and nudged past Ginnie’s previous biggest month, July 2009, when its issuers pumped out $44.84 billion of single-family MBS. And it beat Fannie’s $44.14 billion of ... [Includes two data charts]

Freddie Mac’s first Whole Loan Securities deal was met with strong demand from investors, according to industry analysts. The transaction differed in a number of ways from the risk-sharing deals the government-sponsored enterprises have issued, as its structure was more like a non-agency MBS. The $300.27 million WLS 2015-SC01 included senior tranches with a total balance of $278 million and credit enhancement of 7.50 percent. Investors could purchase the senior ...

Close to one-third of the $154.79 billion in non-agency MBS serviced by Ocwen Financial is subject to potential servicing transfers due to downgrades to the firm’s servicer ratings and actions by investors. However, Ocwen has managed to retain servicing on a vast majority of the 119 deals thus far, helped by the proceeds the company delivers to non-agency MBS investors. Ocwen faces the potential loss of non-agency MBS servicing on two fronts. Some $43.1 billion ...

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac reduced their retained mortgage portfolios by a combined $44.4 billion during the second quarter, a period during which the government-sponsored enterprises posted substantial increases in net earnings. Freddie Mac’s non-agency MBS holdings declined 11.6 percent, while its un-securitized whole-loan portfolio dropped 3.0 percent. The GSE sold $3.3 billion of non-agency MBS and securitized $2.1 billion of single-family ... [Includes one data chart]

Freddie Mac guaranteed its first multifamily small balance loan securitization this week as part of its effort to better serve less populated markets and smaller apartment communities. The government-sponsored enterprise plans to guarantee approximately $108 million in this first series of SB Certificates. This is a new credit risk transfer comprised of multifamily MBS backed by small balance loans underwritten by Freddie and issued by a third-party trust. In these SB deals, Freddie is ...

The brunt of the new revenue also looks as though it will be collected from mortgage borrowers.