Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have asked lenders to repurchase some $76.4 billion of mortgages under representations and warranties provisions in their contracts, although a significant volume of these demands ended up being withdrawn by the two government-sponsored enterprises. A new Inside Mortgage Finance analysis of reps and warranties disclosures made by Fannie and Freddie shows that 37.3 percent of the buyback demands made by the GSEs over the years ended up being withdrawn. Fannie, Freddie and other mortgage securitizers are now required to file reps and warranties...(Includes one data chart)

In a mortgage market still dominated by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and government-insured lending, the non-agency jumbo sector stood out as the only one to show year-over-year growth in 2011, according to a new Inside Mortgage Finance ranking and analysis. Jumbo mortgage originations rose 13.5 percent from 2010 to 2011, while overall production was down 17.2 percent from the year before. The $118 billion of non-agency jumbo originations in 2011 represented the biggest annual output since the market collapsed in 2008 and agency loan limits were jacked dramatically...(Includes two data charts)

In response to a request from the Federal Trade Commission, a U.S. district court has banned a number of defendants from providing mortgage relief services after the agency cracked down on an alleged scam that caused consumers to lose almost $19 million. According to the FTC’s complaint, the defendants deceptively claimed they were affiliated with or approved by consumers’ lenders, that they could prevent foreclosure, and that they would refund consumers’ money if they failed to deliver promised services. Consumers were allegedly instructed not to contact their lenders and to stop making ...

California. In Kathryn McOmie-Gray v. Bank of America Home Loans FKA Countrywide Home Loans Inc., the Ninth Circuit has ruled that the Truth in Lending Act sets a three-year limitation for the borrower to file notice of claim for loan rescission. McOmie-Gray sought rescission of her loan for alleged violations of disclosure requirements under TILA. The district court dismissed the suit as untimely because it was filed after the three-year period set by TILA. McOmie-Gray subsequently argued to the appeals court ...

All mortgage lending related institutions under the regulatory purview of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau are one step closer to a little more certainty about the confidentiality of the data and information they provide the agency and its officials after action by the House Financial Services Committee last week. The full committee passed H.R. 4014 (introduced by Rep. Bill Huizenga, R-MI), a measure that would stipulate that providing information to the CFPB for any purpose as part of the supervisory process would not be construed as waiving, destroying or otherwise affecting any ...

It looks like 2012 is turning out to be the year of the settlement between top mortgage lender/servicers and federal and state government entities. Bank of America subsidiary BAC Home Loans Servicing LP – which did business as Countrywide Home Loans Servicing LP in a previous incarnation – recently agreed to reverse or refund $36 million in fees to settle charges by the Federal Trade Commission that it overcharged struggling homeowners, in violation of an earlier agreement with the government. BAC Home Loans Servicing has already reversed or refunded $28 million worth of ...

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau released a draft monthly mortgage statement last week that the agency hopes will make it easier for homeowners to understand their mortgage and get a better handle on costs and fees. Compliance by mortgage servicers and creditors might get a boost in the process. The model document that was issued includes the principal, the current interest rate, the next date on which the interest rate may change, a description of late payment fees and a telephone number and email address that may be used to contact the servicer...

Mortgage lenders looking for some certainty as to whether the disparate impact theory of discrimination applies under the Fair Housing Act will be disappointed to learn they’ll have to wait. In the key case of Magner v. Gallagher, the city of St. Paul, MN, suddenly removed its challenge to an appellate court ruling on this question, precisely because it thought it would prevail. City leaders came to believe that a victory could substantially undermine important civil rights enforcement as it relates to housing throughout the nation, and that was a price they didn’t want to ...

The long-anticipated mortgage servicing settlement between the federal government, 49 state attorneys general and the nation's largest servicers isn’t just a big deal in terms of dollar amount and legal liability. It’s a critical shift in the legal and regulatory enforcement paradigm that will alter the landscape for years to come. “[T]he settlement is a strategic change in the legal and reputational risk landscape, and not just for what’s left of mortgage banking,” explained Karen Shaw Petrou, a managing partner at Federal Financial Analytics, a Washington, DC, think tank...

Activity in the Home Affordable Modification Program’s Principal Reduction Alternative is heavily concentrated, according to an analysis by Inside Nonconforming Markets. Bank of America and Wells Fargo combined account for 51.4 percent of the non-agency principal reduction mods, based on new disclosures by the Treasury Department. The servicers’ PRA activity is outsized even compared with their overall non-agency HAMP activity. BofA and Wells combined account for 33.6 percent of active non-agency HAMP mods ... [Includes one data chart]