The mortgage banking industry is backing a legislative proposal that would limit the government’s use of the False Claims Act to pursue hefty damages against FHA lenders. In a recent letter to the bill’s co-sponsors, the Mortgage Bankers Association expressed its strong support for H.R. 5993, the Fixing Housing Access Act of 2018. The MBA noted that originating FHA-insured loans has become very risky in recent years largely due to the civil actions brought by the Department of Justice under the False Claims Act and the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act of 1989. Fifty-four FCA and FIRREA cases against financial institutions have settled for billions of dollars between July 2011 and January 2018, according to data compiled by the Buckley Sandler law firm. Four cases are pending and one civil penalty award was reversed on appeal. Those lenders who were on the ...
The nation’s 12th largest servicer of residential loans said other options include a “business combination” or maintaining its status as a standalone entity.
In April 2018, more than 24 percent of FHA homebuyers left the closing the table with debt-to-income ratios at or above 50 percent, up from 20 percent from the same period last year.
Internet retail giant Amazon.com is exploring the idea of buying a mortgage banking franchise and making a splash in this highly cyclical business. But two huge questions loom: Will it actually happen? And if so, will Amazon disrupt the residential lending landscape the way it has brick-and-mortar retailers at the shopping mall?
Not many mortgage lenders found a way to boost production volume in the first quarter of 2018, but mid-size and smaller shops generally fared better than the industry giants, according to an Inside Mortgage Finance ranking and analysis. [Includes two data charts.]
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