Industry trade groups are calling for the withdrawal of a proposed servicing rule that would set new deadlines for filing FHA insurance claims and penalize lenders with termination of insurance coverage if they failed to comply. Banks, independent mortgage lenders and credit unions warn that FHA’s proposed changes to its claims regulations could result in higher interest rates, credit restrictions and lenders exiting from the FHA program. Such effects could be magnified in the hardest hit housing markets, particularly in states that have long foreclosure timelines or older housing stock. The FHA proposal addresses...

UST did not identify the mortgage firm selling the product, but described it as “well capitalized” and in “good standing” with Ginnie Mae.

Coester filed suit against the Virginia Real Estate Appraiser Board, charging that the regulator is engaged in “a conspiracy to restrain and monopolize trade” and is operating in violation of antitrust laws.

The judge presiding over the case ruled that securities law regulates "disclosure of information, not the mismanagement of a company...”

However, insuring private-label MBS is not likely to be a future activity of the MI industry, given the losses suffered in the past...

Collingwood's latest hire is Paul Mullins, former senior vice president of single-family lending for Freddie Mac.

FCC Order Conflicts With CFPB Mortgage Servicing Rules, Other Foreclosure Prevention Efforts, Industry Group Says. A recent order from the Federal Communications Commission clarifying certain provisions of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act clashes with the CFPB’s mortgage servicing rule and other federal regulations designed to help struggling homeowners hold onto their homes, a representative of national mortgage lenders, servicers and service providers wrote top government officials last week. The FCC’s order, released June 18, 2015, aims to bolster consumer protections against unwanted telephone calls and texts by, in part, restricting the ability of mortgage servicers, debt collectors and others to make autodialed or prerecorded phone calls without prior express consent of the person called. Violators face strict liability for noncompliance...

If consent is unavailable, the phone call is impermissible, absent the use of technology the mortgage lending industry generally views as obsolete, such as a rotary or push-button telephone.

Lenders such as Sistar Mortgage of Michigan (licensed in 27 states) are still hiring.

Some $800 million in servicer-advance ABS was issued by New Residential last week, helping to restart activity in the sector. New servicer-advance ABS issuance had stalled due to issues with ratings from Standard & Poor’s, the predominant rating service in the market. The two deals concurrently issued by New Residential followed a $225 million issuance by Ocwen Financial at the end of June. The firms helped end a year-plus long break in the issuance of rated servicer-advance ABS. In April 2014, S&P placed...