Congress explicitly exempted FHA and Department of Veterans Affairs loans from the definition of “qualified residential mortgage” in the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. While those government loans will not be subject to the risk-retention requirements for mortgage securitizations, the proposed QRM safe harbor for... [Includes one graph]

The package of government-sponsored enterprise reform legislation introduced into the House Financial Services Committee last week dominated headlines, but sources on Capitol Hill said forthcoming legislation will also aim to tighten FHA underwriting in some manner, continuing to protect the program’s...

The decline in high-cost conforming loan limits set to occur later this year will affect a small fraction of the more than 300,000 counties in the U.S., according to an analysis released last week by the Federal Housing Finance Agency. However, concerns remain that the non-agency sector will not adequately serve...

Non-agency mortgage-backed securities investors do not have enough confidence to allow for accelerated reform of the government-sponsored enterprises, according to Michael Berman, chairman of the Mortgage Bankers Association. “The key is the private markets have spoken that they don’t have confidence,” Berman said last week in...

The mortgage industry scored a victory recently after a Michigan jury issued a unanimous verdict for Quicken Loans in an overtime lawsuit that has been pending since May 2004. The jury in Henry v. Quicken Loans vindicated the lender after finding that the company had fully complied...

Virginia. The state assembly passed legislation on March 15 expanding the acceptance of electronic signatures in the state. The new law provides that financial disclosure forms, lobbyist registration statements and notary applications for recommission may be signed...

Arizona. The state Senate has passed S.B. 1259, which would require lenders to produce the full chain of title or risk the foreclosure sale being voided. The GOP-sponsored bill passed by a vote of 28-2 and is now being considered in the state House. The purpose of the bill is to require...

House Republicans have voted, among other things, to slash initial funding for the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection by nearly 60 percent in an effort to curb the new agency’s oversight powers over banks and nonbanks. By a vote of 235 to 180, the House passed a new continuing resolution (H.R. 1), the Full Year Continuing Appropriations Act, which would limit...

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...

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...