House Republicans have voted, among other things, to slash initial funding for the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection by nearly 60 percent in an effort to curb the new agency’s oversight powers over banks and nonbanks. By a vote of 235 to 180, the House passed a new continuing resolution (H.R. 1), the Full Year Continuing Appropriations Act, which would limit...
A West Virginia judge has ordered Quicken Loans to pay a 45-year old licensed practical nurse and her adult disabled daughter more than $2.7 million in punitive damages and legal costs after finding the lender guilty of fraudulent and deceptive mortgage lending practices. In a Feb. 17 decision, Judge Arthur Recht of the Circuit Court of Ohio County, WV, concluded...
The compensation formula that will most likely be used by mortgage loan originators to comply with the Federal Reserve’s final rule is a percentage of the loan-funded balance with a minimum floor, according to the California Association of Mortgage Professionals. In an analysis of the rule, the CAMP said MLOs will most likely choose...
The Federal Reserve Board has issued a final rule and sought comment on a proposed rule to revise escrow requirements for first-lien jumbo mortgage loans and first-lien, higher-priced mortgages, respectively. The changes to Regulation Z, which implements...
Florida. State Attorney General Pam Bondi has launched a civil investigation into the foreclosure practices of a Ft. Lauderdale law firm shortly after Fannie Mae quit sending business to the firm. Ben-Ezra & Katz and its principals, Marc Ben-Ezra and Marvin Katz, are...
House Financial Services CommitteeBills to Shut Down Ineffective Foreclosure Programs. Financial Services Committee Chairman Spencer Bachus, R-AL, announced a subcommittee hearing and a full committee markup of four bills that will eliminate...
The Federal Trade Commission has announced the appointment of Edward Hassi as chief litigation officer for the agency’s Bureau of Competition. He replaces J. Robert Robertson, who left the agency in 2010 to return to private practice. Hassi is formerly a partner at the Washington, DC, law firm O’Melveny & Myers, where he served...
The Obama administration’s bid to scale back the government footprint in the housing market by allowing conforming loan limits to decline would have a measurable impact on the FHA program. The administration wants to let the “emergency” high-cost loan limit – now $729,750 in the most expensive housing markets – sunset...[Includes two data charts]
Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Home Loan Banks all recorded significant declines in new debt issuance during 2010. The GSEs collectively issued $3.454 trillion in new debt during 2010, a decline of 25.3 percent from the previous year. New issuance effectively just replaced...[Includes one data chart]
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac purchases of distressed loans from mortgage-backed securities nearly offset the run-off of the GSEs’ retained MBS holdings in 2010, according to a new Inside The GSEs analysis. Fannie and Freddie held...[Includes one data chart]
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