The CFPB’s recent, high-profile $35 million enforcement action against Flagstar Bank over its mortgage servicing practices got the attention not only of the industry but also many legal professionals serving it. One industry legal expert, speaking off the record, said it was heavy handed, at best, for the CFPB to use its authority over unfair, deceptive or abusive acts or practices (UDAAP) to assert legal claims over activities that took place prior to its servicing rule. “It somewhat makes a mockery of the whole rulemaking process by effectively implementing regulations before the regulations were even proposed, much less finalized,” he said. “It also reinforces the fear of making loans to any borrower who presents any risk of default because there ...
After a rough first quarter in which consumer complaints filed with the CFPB rose by 29.1 percent (mostly because of credit reports), the second and the third quarters have seen double-digit declines, 14.8 percent in 2Q14 and 14.6 percent in 3Q14, according to a new analysis by Inside the CFPB. Of the nine categories of gripes tracked, seven showed declines, all by double digits, with the money transfer sector leading the drop-off, down 28.4 percent from the second quarter. Debt collection criticisms slid 20.5 percent, followed by mortgages (17.6 percent), bank accounts (15.4 percent), student loans (14.5 percent), credit cards (12.1 percent) and credit reports (10.0 percent). The two rough spots were grievances about consumer loans, which were up 28.4 percent [with two exclusive data charts] ...
Here's a fact that most readers may not know: the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 grants the FHFA the authority to bring Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac out of conservatorship.
The Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Office of the Inspector General has announced a total of $581.8 million in recoveries in September to strengthen and stabilize the ailing Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund. The recovered amounts are part of larger settlements between the federal government, U.S. Bank and Bank of America to resolve allegations of false claims and mortgage fraud in relation to FHA-insured mortgages. Both banks were investigated separately by the HUD-OIG, Department of Justice and U.S. attorneys’ offices in Michigan, Ohio and New York in connection with their lending and underwriting practices and quality-control programs for FHA-insured loans. On June 30, U.S. Bank entered into a settlement agreement to pay $200 million, of which nearly $144.2 million went to the MMI Fund. The bank admitted to poor underwriting, flawed quality control and ...
The Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Inspector General has recommended that HUD require an approved FHA lender to reimburse the FHA $1.6 million for improper claims on 11 preforeclosure sales, including lender and borrower incentives. An IG audit of EverBank of Jacksonville, FL, attributed FHA’s losses to the bank’s failure to determine whether or not defaulted borrowers qualified for the agency’s preforeclosure sale program. The IG looked into the bank’s short sale activities because it had the highest preforeclosure sale claims in Florida. More than 50 percent of EverBank’s FHA claims were from short sales, with more than $12.9 million paid from 2011 through 2013, the audit found. In response, EverBank questioned the accuracy of the IG report. The bank maintained that certain allegations do not constitute violations of ...
RSS