Federal regulators are deeply divided on the amount of fines and the scope of procedural changes that should be imposed against major mortgage servicers to settle state and federal claims of fraud and other improprieties in the home foreclosure process. While no settlement agreement has been reached...
Many of the allegations made in the context of mortgage foreclosures are making their way into bankruptcy courts as a result of the robo-signing mess, according to compliance experts. Bankruptcy judges are now looking closely at mortgage documents, particularly with respect to proofs-of-claim and other affidavits and attestations of ownership and standing that must be made...
Major mortgage servicers are bracing for the worst as a result of the recent state and federal investigations of foreclosure irregularities, securities filings show. Foreclosure-related probes by numerous federal agencies and a multistate task force of attorneys general could result...
Florida. State Attorney General Pam Bondi has launched a civil investigation into the foreclosure practices of a Ft. Lauderdale law firm shortly after Fannie Mae quit sending business to the firm. Ben-Ezra & Katz and its principals, Marc Ben-Ezra and Marvin Katz, are...
House Financial Services CommitteeBills to Shut Down Ineffective Foreclosure Programs. Financial Services Committee Chairman Spencer Bachus, R-AL, announced a subcommittee hearing and a full committee markup of four bills that will eliminate...
The Federal Trade Commission has announced the appointment of Edward Hassi as chief litigation officer for the agency’s Bureau of Competition. He replaces J. Robert Robertson, who left the agency in 2010 to return to private practice. Hassi is formerly a partner at the Washington, DC, law firm O’Melveny & Myers, where he served...
H.R. 463 has been introduced in the House of Representatives to extend the Freedom of Information Act to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac during periods when they are in conservatorship or receivership, as they are now. Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-UT, who introduced the bill, noted that...
The Department of Justice and state attorneys general are watching the mortgage servicing arena closely for signs of unfair or discriminatory business practices, and whether minority borrowers are receiving loan modifications on par with similarly situated non-minority borrowers. While fair lending on the loan origination side remains...
The Obama administration has submitted a plan to Congress for reforming the nation’s housing finance market, including fixing the basic flaws in the mortgage financing chain. Among other things, a top administration priority for the immediate future is a series of reforms to correct problems in...
The Financial Services Roundtable has circulated a draft letter commenting on the Securities and Exchange Commission’s study on the possible standardization of credit ratings terminology. The Roundtable said it believes the SEC should continue to allow credit rating agencies to use...
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