During the recent annual meeting of the Mortgage Bankers Association, a top compliance expert highlighted some of the biggest issues and concerns the industry faces under the new data collection and reporting regime ushered in by the CFPB’s updated Home Mortgage Disclosure Act rule. The short list of the most significant considerations, of course, includes the fair lending implications of the new requirements. Mitch Kider, chairman and managing partner of the Weiner Brodsky Kider PC law firm in Washington, DC, told attendees at one break-out session that HMDA data accuracy (or errors) sets the tone for an entire CFPB examination. “Most of the new data fields companies already have,” he said. “Do you know what story your data currently tells ...

The CFPB recently issued some proposed policy guidance for its Home Mortgage Disclosure Act rule that could help borrowers on the data privacy front, but it might not be enough, according to one compliance attorney. “On the heels of the Equifax data breach and continued cybersecurity threats, the CFPB’s guidance is a clear attempt to alleviate concerns regarding identity theft and information security,” Alexander Koskey, an associate in the Atlanta office of the Baker Donelson law firm, said in a recent client note. “However, significant privacy concerns persist that the increase in the amount of data that is being disclosed for the first time will make it easier to discover the identity of applicants and borrowers.”Additionally, given that the ...

African-American and Hispanic Borrowers Allegedly Harmed by Provident Will Receive $9 Million in Compensation. Last week, Garden City Group, the settlement administrator for Provident Funding Associates, mailed out checks to African-American and Hispanic borrowers to compensate them for having been unlawfully charged higher interest or broker fees on their mortgages from Provident.... Ocwen Enters Into Agreement with Hawaii to Resolve Regulatory Action. Ocwen Financial settled some outstanding issues with regulatory authorities in Hawaii last week, continuing a streak the nonbank servicer has been on for the last two months or so....

Interestingly, Nationstar, Ocwen and Walter each have embarked on a course of selling their owned mortgage-servicing rights while staying on as a subservicer…

PennyMac estimates by entering the broker space it will gain access to additional 10 percent of the $1.7 trillion loan market.

PennyMac (the REIT) said third quarter results were also affected by the reduced earnings contribution from "our credit risk transfer investments..."

But while Fannie production slumped 11.5 percent, Freddie saw a robust 23.9 percent jump in new issuance in October…

The $1 million cap is grandfathered and will only affect loans taken out after enactment of the bill...

“There was no drama surrounding this meeting of the FOMC,” said Michael Fratantoni, chief economist for the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Meanwhile, the indicators point to a drop in production volume for the fourth quarter…