In its first case regarding deceptive mortgage advertising, the CFPB has ordered Atlanta-based Amerisave Mortgage Corp., an online mortgage lender, and its affiliate, Novo Appraisal Management Co., to pay $19.3 million in damages and a fine. The consent order settles charges the firms engaged in a deceptive bait-and-switch mortgage-lending scheme said to have harmed tens of thousands of consumers. Of the total payout, $14.8 million will be in the form of refunds to harmed consumers. The companies also agreed to pay a $4.5 million fine. Patrick Markert, the owner of both companies, as an individual, will pay an additional $1.5 million penalty. According to the CFPB, between mid-2011 and 2014, Amerisave advertised its interest rates and terms using online banner ...

The Federal Reserve’s latest senior loan officer survey found the CFPB’s ability-to-repay/qualified mortgage rule is not having much of an effect on the conforming mortgage market but is being felt in the jumbo and nontraditional spaces. The July survey included a set of three special questions on the effects on the approval rates for home-purchase loans of the ATR and QM standards under the Truth in Lending Act, which came into effect early this year. The first question asks respondents to indicate the extent to which the ATR/QM rule is affecting the likelihood of their banks approving applications from individuals for mortgage loans to purchase homes for each of four categories of residential real estate loans. [includes one exclusive data chart] ...

Nearly three-fourths (74 percent) of senior mortgage executives surveyed by Fannie Mae’s Economic and Strategic Research Group in June indicated that they expect operational costs to increase as a result of the CFPB’s ability-to-repay/qualified mortgage rule. Most lenders (80 percent) said they “do not plan to pursue non-QM loans” or prefer to “wait and see”. “Larger lenders are more likely to pursue non-QM loans to increase their market share,” Fannie said. Also, most firms (84 percent) reported that they expect at least 90 percent of their single-family mortgage origination dollar volume to still be considered qualified mortgages. Further, “Lenders, on net, expect to tighten credit standards as a result of QM rules,” according to the government-sponsored enterprise, with 36 percent ...

A number of mortgage finance industry groups have expressed concern about how the CFPB’s ability-to-repay rule is interfering with the return of private investor capital back into the sector – mostly because of the rule’s assignee liability provisions. The industry comments came in response to a request from the Treasury Department in June for suggestions to encourage private capital to return to the non-agency mortgage-backed securities space. The Association of Institutional Investors said the ATR rule’s assignee liability provision “unfairly punishes investors who have nothing to do with the origination of loans and oftentimes have limited insight into the origination practices.” The assignee liability provision therefore introduces a risk that is almost impossible to price for those not directly involved in ...

CFPB Student Loan Ombudsman Rohit Chopra is raising the headline risk for banks that fail to be transparent about the campus financial product marketing agreements they have with colleges and universities. In a recent blog post alerting colleges and students about “secret banking contracts,” Chopra indicated the bureau has been mailing out letters to such educational institutions “to make sure they know that their bank partner has not yet committed to transparency when it comes to student financial products” because the financial institution has not yet posted its marketing agreement with the school on its website. Last year, the CFPB launched an inquiry into financial products marketed to college and university students to determine whether the market is working for...

CFPB Making Its Presence Felt Among Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Servicers. Fannie Mae’s latest earning filing indicates the CFPB and/or the New York State Department of Financial Services have been reviewing the activities of Fannie Mae’s three largest non-depository servicers (which would be Nationstar, Ocwen and possibly Quicken Loans, according to the latest ranking by Inside Mortgage Finance, an affiliated publication). The scrutiny of Quicken Loans seems to be a new development. The bureau would not comment. Meanwhile, during the first half of 2014, Freddie Mac said in its second quarter earnings announcement that it implemented requirements for its seller/ servicers in response to some final rules from the CFPB, including rules concerning the requirements for borrowers’ ability to ...

The HUD IG found the Federal Housing Administration failed to bill lenders for 486 loans with enforceable indemnification agreements that created losses for the FHA.

Redwood Trust said monetary policy moves by the Fed have left banks saturated with record levels of excess reserves and lower costs of funds.

The VA home loan guaranty program also is building market share, with $25.52 billion of new business written during the second quarter, a 36 percent increase from early 2014.

One bidder who has looked at the Ginnie MSR package from PHH described it as “seasoned with some delinquencies in it.”