Rep. Maxine Waters, D-CA, and other Democrat members of the House Financial Services Committee recently released a detailed report in defense of the CFPB and its accomplishments in protecting consumers in the wake of the mortgage market collapse and the financial crisis that led to the Great Recession. “The consumer bureau has worked tirelessly to comply with its statutory mandate to ensure consumers are treated fairly, and that financial institutions are held accountable for predatory and other unscrupulous conduct,” the report said. According to the minority report, the CFPB has produced strong results, such as returning almost $12 billion to 29 million harmed consumers; implementing rules ensuring consumers have access to a fair and competitive marketplace; and requiring clear disclosures ...

Best Odds of Success in Making Consumer Complaint Data Confidential Rest With a New Director at the CFPB. Industry observers and lobbyists are increasingly of the view that the most likely way the industry will see the kind of substantive regulatory reform and relief it needs is not through federal legislation, but rather from a new director at the CFPB... ICYMI: The Financial CHOICE Act Would Exclude AMCs from Points and Fees Calculations. One overlooked provision in H.R. 10, the Financial CHOICE Act, which was passed by the House of Representatives on June 13, deals with residential mortgage appraisals...

Earlier this month, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky ruled against the CFPB and in favor of a Kentucky law firm over allegations it paid kickbacks in violation of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act. The bureau accused the Borders & Borders law firm of Louisville, KY, and its principals, Harry Borders, John Borders Jr. and J. David Borders, of illegally paying kickbacks for real estate settlement referrals through a network of shell companies. The case began back in February 2011 when the Department of Housing and Urban Development notified the law firm it was being investigated for potential violations of RESPA’s anti-kickback provision. In April 2012, the CFPB advised Borders & Borders that it, rather ...

The CFPB has not yet initiated a public process to apply the balancing test to determine which of the new data will be released to the public.

Fannie said that about 3 or 4 percent of DU applications with DTI ratios ranging from 45 percent to 50 percent had been deemed ineligible because they failed the overlay test…

Among the top 20 lenders in 2Q17, Fairway Independent Mortgage had the highest growth rate at 64.2 percent.

Fannie Mae’s announcement in May that it will raise the debt-to-income cap from 45 to 50 percent is a win for expanding access to credit, especially for minority families, says a recent report by the Urban Institute.UI anticipates that as many as 95,000 new mortgages could be approved annually. With African-American and Latino families more likely to have DTI ratios above 45 percent, the authors of the paper note that a large share of the new loans will likely be to those families. Prior to the change, Fannie allowed for flexibility up to 50 percent DTI in certain cases.

Wells Fargo remained the top producer of first-lien mortgages with a hefty 27.1 percent increase from the first quarter, gaining ground on all of its nearest competitors.

“While originations to-date have been nominal, we expect a ramp-up production from here as we continue to increase marketing and consumer awareness of the Ally Home offering,” Christopher Halmy said.

A number of lenders have experienced a sharp decline in refinance volume without a meaningful increase in purchase-mortgage originations, according to Jonathan Corr, president and CEO of Ellie Mae.