The CFPB and five other federal financial regulatory agencies issued a proposed rule last week that would create exemptions from certain appraisal requirements for a subset of higher-priced mortgage loans.Under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, mortgages are deemed higher-priced if they are secured by a consumer’s home and have interest rates above a certain threshold. The proposed rule would exempt the following three types of HPMLs from Dodd-Frank appraisal requirements: certain loans secured by...

Debt collection practices are now fully and firmly on the CFPB’s radar. Last week, the bureau warned all companies under its jurisdiction that they will be held accountable for unlawful conduct in collecting a consumer’s debts. In the first of two bulletins, the CFPB makes clear that any entity subject to the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010, whether a third-party collector or a creditor collecting its own debts, can be held accountable for any unfair, deceptive or abusive practices in collecting a consumer’s debts...

The CFPB issued a final rule last week that finalizes the April clarifications made to its ability-to-repay and mortgage servicing rules. Among other things, the final rule clarifies and amends how several factors can be used to calculate a consumer’s debt-to-income ratio. Such factors include a consumer’s employment record and income, business credit reports and other documents relating to self-employed consumers, Social Security income, and non-employment related income such as from a trust or rental property. The final...

MBA president Dave Stevens is concerned that events could soon overtake policy makers and force an “imperfect solution” to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Citigroup is becoming more aggressive in residential lending, especially in the jumbo space.

Warehouse lenders hold the key to liquidity in the non-prime and private money sectors.

Legislation unveiled by Rep. Jeb Hensarling, R-TX, would allow for a higher high-cost loan limit than legislation he proposed in 2011.

Mortgage firms issued $4.34 billion of non-agency jumbo MBS in the second quarter of 2013, with deals from five issuers, both quarterly highs in the new non-agency era.

Some Ginnie Mae investors, however, have voiced concern about the MBS conversion process, particularly its costs.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development is adopting the mortgage banking industry’s data standards format for the FHA’s TOTAL Mortgage Scorecard, which HUD uses to evaluate the credit risk of FHA loans that are submitted through an automated underwriting system. The standards were developed by the Mortgage Industry Standard Maintenance Organization (MISMO), a nonprofit subsidiary of the Mortgage Bankers Association. MISMO is an open data standards group that promotes consistency among mortgage transaction participants to reduce loan processing costs, increase transparency, and ultimately ...