Servicers appear to have won a battle with consumer advocates regarding state adoption of servicing requirements that exceed those established by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The Council of State Governments this weekend decided against recommending California’s “Homeowner’s Bill of Rights” as model legislation for states, according to a spokesman for the CSG. The Mortgage Bankers Association had warned that piecemeal adoption of California’s bill would increase costs and create confusion. California’s Homeowner’s Bill of Rights included...
Closely-watched market share calculations for the retail mortgage channel have been recalculated by Inside Mortgage Finance. In the past, Inside Mortgage Finance has calculated retail market shares by dividing each firm’s retail originations by the total volume of loans originated during the period with no involvement by third-party originators, either mortgage brokers or loan correspondents. Observers have pointed out...[Includes two data charts]
The Department of Housing and Urban Development is seeking additional authority from Congress to transfer FHA mortgage servicing in order to facilitate loss mitigation. The change would allow the FHA to require specific actions when a servicer is underperforming or has a low score on HUD’s Tiered Ranking System, including the transfer of servicing to an FHA-designated special servicer or requiring a servicer to enter into a sub-servicing agreement. With expanded powers, the FHA also may require a servicer to engage a third-party to assist in loss mitigation services. Such authority would enable the FHA to better avoid losses due to poor servicing and, thus, protect the MMI Fund, HUD said. Testifying before a Senate appropriations subcommittee, FHA Commissioner Carol Galante noted...
The revised ranking for the first quarter shows that the top retail lender, Wells Fargo, produced $60.4 billion through this channel, or 12 percent of total originations for the period.
Some non-agency participants have called for an immediate return to conforming loan limits of $417,000, which were in place in 2008 before Congress established “emergency” loan limits for high-cost areas.
The new Bachus bill could be a sign that House Republicans are making a fresh push to force a compromise with the Obama administration over the structure of the CFPB.
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