Cancelled Furlough Days. The Department of Housing and Urban Development has reduced the number of furlough days from seven to five days due to progress made in achieving the $69.6 million spending cuts mandated by sequestration. In this regard, previously scheduled furlough days of Aug. 16 and Aug. 30 are cancelled. As the end of FY 2013 approaches, HUD is making significant progress towards reaching its sequestration target, without needing additional furlough days, said Deputy Press Secretary George Gonzalez of HUD’s Office of Public Affairs. Government-wide automatic spending cuts became effective ...
With implementation of the CFPB’s ability-to-repay/qualified mortgage rule just a few months away, federal regulators are scheduled to meet in Washington, DC, later this week to discuss – and possibly vote on – a new version of a qualified residential mortgage/ risk retention proposal. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.’s board of directors is scheduled to meet in open session at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 28, for renewed formal consideration of a QRM/credit risk retention proposal as mandated by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and...
The CFPB recently released a second update to its exam procedures associated with the new mortgage regulations issued in January 2013, with the intent of providing guidance to financial institutions and mortgage companies on what the bureau will be eyeballing as the rules become effective. The updates cover the ability-to-repay rule and qualified mortgages, high-cost mortgages, and appraisals for higher-priced mortgage loans, as well as new amendments related to the escrow rule. With this latest iteration, the exam procedures now...
Earlier this month, the CFPB put out an updated small entity compliance guide for the ability-to-repay/qualified mortgage rule, incorporating clarifications and amendments to the rules issued on May 29, 2013, and July 10, 2013. The updated guide includes a handful of new sections, one of which goes into some detail about the exemptions that were added by the June 2013 concurrent final rule for certain creditors and loan programs, such as designated community development organizations, certain nonprofit organizations, and...
The CFPB’s ability-to-repay rule and its qualified mortgage standard are getting closer every day, and best practices may provide the surest path to compliance. First off, if you haven’t started, start now. “There’s a lot to do, there’s a lot to know, and there’s a lot to sort out. So, go ahead and get started. It’s already August, and January will be here before we know it,” Ginger Moore, the compliance officer at PrimeLending, a top-25 mortgage originator based in Dallas, TX, told participants during a recent Inside Mortgage...
Tammy Butler, the director of fair lending and compliance for Optimal Blue, a leading pricing engine, said she’s been hearing from one attorney and industry consultant after another that the time of mortgage lenders naming their fees just to re‐name profit is not going to go over well with the CFPB. “In fact, those who have been through the exams or been fined have learned the hard way that complete transparency to the consumer is a must,” Butler said.For instance, Butler has heard some lenders plan on lumping a...
FHA lenders have gradually stretched to originate loans for borrowers with more modest credit scores in recent quarters, although these borrowers typically are better positioned to keep up with their payments, according to an Inside FHA Lending analysis of data released by the agency. The average credit score for single-family loans endorsed in the second quarter of 2013 was 693 – the lowest such average in nearly four years. This is partly the result of a shift toward more purchase-money mortgages, which generally have ... [1 chart]
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-MA, is asking the Department of Justice to explain why it failed to get “adequate” compensation from major mortgage servicers for fraud committed against the FHA. In an Aug. 21 letter to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, Warren raised concerns about the $225 million paid by five servicers last year to obtain releases from False Claims Act liability stemming from fraudulent mortgage insurance claims the servicers submitted to FHA and other agencies from 2008 to 2010. The FHA’s woeful financial condition led to legislative reform efforts, including the ...
The FHA is easing the waiting period and eligibility criteria for certain borrowers with previous bankruptcies, foreclosures, deeds-in-lieu of foreclosure and short sales who would like to purchase a home again. According to Mortgagee Letter 2013-26, borrowers who may be otherwise ineligible for an FHA-insured mortgage due to the agency’s required waiting period may now be able to apply for a new purchase mortgage loan because of the shortened waiting period and if they meet the criteria. This latest initiative to help borrowers whose credit had been impaired by the financial crisis is called ...
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