Any rule that threatens compensation in the mortgage business is likely to generate much attention – and a lot of questions. Compliance experts Kris Kully, of counsel with K&L Gates, Richard Andreano, a partner with Patton Boggs, and David Hay, vice president and associate general counsel of SunTrust Mortgage, had their hands full as they fielded...

Federal Housing Administration Anti-Flipping Waiver Extended. The FHA has extended its temporary anti-flipping waiver to hasten the resale of foreclosed homes in neighborhoods with high foreclosure rates. With certain exceptions, current FHA regulation prohibits insuring a mortgage on a home owned by the seller for less than 90 days. Early last year, the FHA temporarily set...

The Mortgage Bankers Association has filed suit in federal court in Washington, DC, to overturn a controversial rule interpretation on overtime for mortgage loan officers issued by the Department of Labor last year. The lawsuit challenges procedures the DOL followed...

In a rare show of solidarity, industry and community groups urged federal risk-retention rulemakers not to settle for a narrow definition of “qualified residential mortgage.” A coalition of consumer advocates and real estate industry trade associations warned...

Compliance experts are urging government-approved lenders that work with “sponsored third-party originators,” or loan correspondents, to revise their quality control plan immediately and implement the Federal Housing Administration’s latest quality control requirements. The new requirements are...

Rhode Island. The state Department of Business Regulation has delayed the implementation of new statutory requirements for mortgage loan originators regarding surety bonds and minimum net worth. Implementing regulations (Banking Regulation 6) would have taken effect on Jan. 18. The department said...

Compliance experts see 2011 as a watershed year for the mortgage industry as it enters a new phase of financial regulation never before experienced by loan originators, mortgage servicers and other industry participants. The year begins...

The Federal Reserve Board staff’s verbal interpretation of the loan originator compensation rule is greatly appreciated but mortgage lenders would rather have those opinions and advice in writing, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. Meetings between members and officials of the MBA and Fed staff regarding...

In March 2010, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division issued Administrator’s Interpretation (AI) No. 2010-1, an analysis which found that mortgage loan officers do not fall under the scope of the administrative exemption from overtime pay and therefore should be...