SunTrust Banks started off the new year reliving the pain of the last six years since the financial crisis by revealing it plans to take yet another financial hit – this time, a $145 million legal expense in its fourth quarter results tied to legacy mortgage issues. In a Form 8-K filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission early this week, David Wisniewski, deputy general counsel, said the bank was taking the charge “to increase legal reserves and complete the final resolution of one matter. Accordingly, based on current information, the company expects its estimate of reasonably possible losses related to legal matters, in excess of reserves, to decrease by approximately this amount.” Wisniewski did not specify...

Mortgage lenders and real estate agents called for further clarifications of an inter-agency proposed regulation that would mandate escrowing of all premiums and fees for flood insurance for most residential mortgages and mobile homes, with some exceptions, after Jan. 1, 2016. While supportive of the regulation, industry groups urged the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., Federal Reserve Board, National Credit Union Administration and the Farm Credit Administration to proceed cautiously and ensure flood insurance remains affordable and available to consumers. The proposed rule covers...

Molly Boesel, a senior economist at CoreLogic, said mortgages originated in the past four years are among the most pristine loans made in the past two decades.

“Auctions would determine the market prices of those guarantees and allocate them to the lenders who most valued them,” the CBO said.

Elsewhere, Batkins projects compliance with all of the CFPB's 2014 regulations to cost the financial services industry $2.1 billion.

The National Association of Realtors recently estimated that in 2014, nearly 234,000 creditworthy borrowers were priced out of the housing market because of high FHA insurance premiums.

On an annualized basis, Ocwen Financial is still profitable and has a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.

Of course, we’re waiting to see what Republicans on Capitol Hill think of a cut in FHA premiums…

Potential actions by regulators also give non-agency MBS investors cause for concern.

Mortgage brokers originated 21.3 percent of Golden State mortgages during the first nine months of the year...