The American Bankers Association sent a letter to the leaders of Congress recently, urging adoption of a bipartisan regulatory relief package that would provide unspecified reform of the CFPB and address an expanded definition of a qualified mortgage. When it comes to the bureau, the ABA urged sensible regulation by restoring “balance to the regulatory process, including Consumer Financial Protection Bureau reform,” and by focusing on promoting both economic growth and safety and soundness. On the QM point, the organization asked lawmakers to “reform mortgage regulations that have raised costs and prevented banks from flexibly serving their customers without enhancing consumer protections or safety and soundness. Most crucially, deeming loans held in portfolio as qualified mortgages will expand safe and ...
The U.S. Department of Justice recently reached a settlement with two jointly owned but independently operated banks in Ohio, Union Savings Bank and Guardian Savings Bank, resolving allegations that the pair engaged in a pattern or practice of redlining predominantly African-American neighborhoods in and around the Ohio cities of Cincinnati, Columbus and Dayton, as well as in Indianapolis. According to the government’s complaint, Union (with $2.7 billion in assets and 29 branches) and Guardian (with $861 million in assets and 11 branches) violated the Fair Housing Act and the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, which prohibit financial institutions from discriminating on the basis of race and color in their mortgage lending practices. The Justice Department alleges that, from at least 2010 ...
Bureau Mulling Possible Changes to HMDA Resubmission Guidelines. It’s been roughly one year since the CFPB issued a request for information regarding Home Mortgage Disclosure Act resubmission guidelines, and the bureau has yet to decide which way to proceed. The agency received 31 comments in response to the RFI, which was published Jan. 12, 2016, in the Federal Register. Commenters included HMDA reporters, industry trade groups, and consumer groups.... Revisions to Interagency Compliance Rating System Still Pending. The CFPB and the other members of the FFIEC continue to review public comments on their April 29, 2016, proposal to revise the existing Uniform Interagency Consumer Compliance Rating System to reflect regulatory, supervisory, technological, and market changes since the system was established....
NY Acts to Hold Banks and Mortgage Servicers Accountable for Maintaining “Zombie Properties.” The New York Department of Financial Services recently finalized a regulation intended to protect communities from the blight of “zombie properties” by requiring banks and mortgage servicers to report and maintain vacant and abandoned properties.... Mortgage Servicers Face New Licensing Requirement in Kentucky. The Kentucky Department of Financial Institutions has decided to require both master servicers and subservicers to obtain a license as a mortgage loan company with the KDFI if the loans being serviced are secured by residential real property located in the state....
Empirical evidence of the mortgage market’s recovery is still piling up, with the latest quarterly consumer complaint data from the CFPB showing that gripes about home loans fell in most categories tracked, both on a quarterly basis and year over year, according to a new analysis and ranking by Inside the CFPB. Consumer criticisms in the fourth quarter fell a solid 15.0 percent from the period ending Sept. 30, 2016. Finger pointing by borrowers fell on a YOY basis as well, but by a smaller 4.5 percent, the data show.With fewer and fewer borrowers underwater or in foreclosure these days, it should be no surprise that complaints about loan modification are down the most [With three exclusive data charts] ...
United Shore Financial Services was the top seller of broker loans by a wide margin, with $5.83 billion in fourth-quarter activity, more than twice its nearest competitor…