Most of the discussion about lender relief from the compliance burdens under the Dodd-Frank Act has revolved around the Financial CHOICE Act sponsored by House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling, R-TX. But the wheels are starting to move in the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, where Chairman Mike Crapo, R-ID, has begun receiving input from industry trade groups about the kind of changes they would like to see. The lion’s share of the industry’s concerns have to do with the mortgage rules promulgated by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, whether it’s the integrated disclosure rule, the ability-to-repay rule or the penchant the bureau seems to have for bypassing the public rulemaking process through the use of consent orders. The Mortgage Bankers Association urged...
Many borrowers could have seen significant savings on the interest rate on a mortgage if they shopped around, according to a working paper published by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Office of Research. The bureau economists noted that close to half of consumers didn’t shop before taking out a mortgage, based on the National Survey of Mortgage Originations, a representative survey conducted by the CFPB and the Federal Housing Finance Agency. And only 16.0 percent of borrowers considered three or more lenders before obtaining a mortgage. The economists said...
The problem with the perceived appraiser shortage is not whether VA has enough appraisers but whether there are enough of them in areas where appraisal demands are greater, according to a ranking member of the VA Fee Panel of the Department of Veterans Affairs. As of April 8, 2017, the Fee Panel had 5,006 licensed and certified appraisers working in the eight regional loan centers (RLC) that administer the VA Home Loan Guaranty program, said Kevin Eason, valuation officer with the Denver RLC. Last year, 553 new appraisers were appointed to the panel, whose members accept VA appraisal assignments on a rotating basis. Speaking last week at the annual VA Lenders Conference in Kansas City, MO, Eason noted...
Based on mortgage results reported thus far, the first quarter was a nasty time for new originations for both the megabanks and some of the regionals, with non-depositories reporting slightly more benign production figures. Market leader Wells Fargo posted a hefty 38.9 percent one-quarter drop in mortgage originations. Second-ranked JPMorgan Chase reported a slightly less severe 23.0 percent drop in home loan funding. Citigroup, which a few months back made a strategic decision to deemphasize its role in home lending, suffered a 32.1 percent drop. Then there’s...
Most of the provisions of the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act final rule the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau promulgated back in 2015 won’t take effect until January 2018, and already the agency is proposing a host of clarifications, technical corrections and minor changes with the stated goal of fostering lender compliance. Among the suggested alterations to the CFPB’s proposed rule, issued last week, is the clarification of certain key terms, such as “temporary financing” and “automated underwriting system.” The proposal also would establish...
The outstanding supply of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae servicing continued to grow during the first quarter of 2017 despite a downturn in new mortgage-backed securities issuance by the three agencies, according to a new analysis and ranking by Inside Mortgage Finance. A total of $6.225 trillion of agency single-family MBS was outstanding at the end of March, up 1.4 percent from December 2016. That number does not include agency servicing of whole loans held on the books of Fannie and Freddie, or a smattering of adjustable-rate mortgages in seasoned Freddie securities. Freddie posted...[Includes two data tables]
The trade group first launched its GSE task force in late 2012 with 17 initial executive members, including Bob Ryan, a Wells Fargo executive who is now the acting deputy director of the division of conservatorship at the Federal Housing Finance Agency.
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