Democrats in Congress are putting pressure on federal regulators to increase oversight of servicers due to problems with independent foreclosure reviews and the $25.0 billion national servicing settlement. The regulators have pushed back to some extent while indicating that servicers will be subject to tighter oversight going forward. In 2011, consent orders from the Federal Reserve and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency required independent foreclosure reviews to be completed by 14 servicers with the help of consultants. In January, most of the servicers agreed to stop the reviews and alternatively provide $8.5 billion in relief to borrowers. The regulators acknowledged...

The Department of Housing and Urban Development’s fiscal 2014 budget proposal is in for some rough sailing in Congress as House appropriators, unmoved by pleas to soften the impact of sequestration, criticized HUD’s lack of commitment to fiscal reform. Appearing as the sole witness before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies, HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan had an earful from Republican lawmakers who expressed “deep concern” about the lack of comprehensive reform proposals in the proposed budget. Subcommittee Chairman Tom Latham, R-IA, expressed...

Fannie Mae’s and Freddie Mac’s recent, unambiguous return to profitability will diminish an already waning urgency among Capitol Hill lawmakers to proceed with legislative GSE reform as the companies’ profits flow into the U.S. Treasury by the billions, industry experts warn. Fannie announced last week that the GSE expects to remain profitable “for the foreseeable future” after posting record-shattering quarterly and yearly earnings for the period ending Dec. 31, 2012. In the wake of Fannie’s announcement, the White House this week said that from January 2013 to the end of 2023 the two GSEs could send $183.3 billion to the Treasury.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s lawsuit against UBS Americas and, by extension, more than a dozen other big banks, in connection with non-agency MBS purchased by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will continue after a federal appeals court flatly denied UBS’ bid to dismiss the case. The Second Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court ruling that denied UBS’ motion to dismiss the FHFA’s suit as time barred. In the summer of 2011, the FHFA filed 18 lawsuits in Manhattan federal court against UBS and other big banks on behalf of the GSEs, alleging violations of the federal Securities Act of 1933 for approximately $200 billion in MBS sold to Fannie and Freddie in the years prior to the mortgage market meltdown. The UBS appeal argument largely revolves...

Industry groups are urging Congress and the FHA to consider incorporating risk-sharing into the agency’s business model while appearing leery of other proposals, such as risk-based pricing and reduced FHA coverage. Testifying at a hearing before the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance, the Mortgage Bankers Association and the National Association of Realtors said that while they do not support risk-sharing between FHA and private mortgage insurers, it is an option that is worth exploring in the context of FHA reform. There was...

Funding for a federal program providing guarantees to mortgage loans to Native Americans and other indigenous peoples has been spared from mandatory budget cuts under a temporary budget measure signed into law by President Obama last month. The Department of Housing and Urban Development has resumed accepting new loan applications under the Section 184 Indian Home Loan Guarantee Program. The mortgage product is for American Indian and Alaska Native families, Alaskan tribal members and tribally designated housing entities. Congress established the program in 1992 to ...

In the first major change to loan originator test requirements since tests required by the Secure and Fair Enforcement for Mortgage Licensing Act were implemented in 2009, 20 state regulators adopted new LO tests this week. Industry participants applauded the uniformity among states, which will allow mortgage loan originators to satisfy testing requirements for multiple states in one swoop. Effective April 1, 20 states implemented uniform state content for the SAFE MLO test, five more states will adopt the test July 1 and two state agencies in Texas will adopt the test Oct. 1. MLOs seeking a license in the states will no longer be required to take a second, state-specific test component, according to the Conference of State Bank Supervisors. “This is...

Lawmakers of both parties in the House and Senate are talking like they are poised to finally ramp up their efforts to tackle housing finance reform, including disposition of the GSEs, but industry observers are skeptical that members will overcome differences and accomplish anything tangible. Last week, during hearings by the House Financial Services and Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs committees, members spoke with more conviction about taking action, but said the devil is in the details. Some Republicans are pushing for a fully private housing finance system, while many Democrats desire some sort of government involvement to support originations of 30-year fixed-rate mortgages.

Industry observers are lauding the passage of an amendment in the Senate’s proposed budget to curtail the use of Fannie Mae’s and Freddie Mac’s guaranty fees to pay for unrelated spending.By a vote of 50 to 49 last weekend, the Senate passed its fiscal 2014 budget resolution. An amendment making it more difficult to tap fees charged by the government-sponsored enterprises was offered by Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee Chairman Tim Johnson, D-SD, and Ranking Minority Member Mike Crapo, R-ID, and approved by unanimous consent.

The National Labor Relations Board announced earlier this month that it will not seek en banc rehearing in Noel Canning v. NLRB, in which the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia affirmed that President Barack Obama’s Jan. 4, 2012, recess appointments of three members to the board were unconstitutional. “The board, in consultation with the Department of Justice, intends to file a petition for certiorari with the United States Supreme Court for review of that decision,” the NLRB said. The petition is due...