On a scale of one to five, the CFPB’s overall information security program is operating at a level-three (consistently implemented) maturity, with the agency performing several activities indicative of a higher maturity level, according to a recent report from the bureau’s Office of Inspector General. “For instance, the CFPB’s information security continuous monitoring process is effective and operating at level four, with the agency tracking and reporting on performance measures related to supporting activities,” the OIG said. “In addition, the CFPB employs network access controls to detect unauthorized hardware and has implemented automated patch management tools.” These areas are typically associated with a level-four maturity. The CFPB also could mature its information security program to make sure that it is ...
More Industry Advice for a Post-Cordray CFPB. Competitive Enterprise Institute financial policy expert John Berlau said last week, “Richard Cordray’s impending resignation as director of the CFPB is long overdue.... Growth of CFPB Leveling Off. The total number of employees at the CFPB came to 1,668 for fiscal year 2017, up 20 positions from the year before, according to the bureau’s latest financial statements for the last two years.... GAO Signs Off on CFPB Financial Statements. The Government Accountability Office audited the CFPB’s financial statements for fiscal years 2016 and 2017, and found they are “presented fairly, in all material respects, in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles.”...
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac released a report this week on efforts to improve the origination of eMortgage transactions including more education and policy alignment on the topic. Those efforts have resulted in the growth of the number of warehouse banks that fund eNotes.The report was a follow-up to a joint industry outreach survey the GSEs conducted last year on perceived barriers to the industry adopting eMortgages. Stakeholder readiness and process complexity were found to be the most common barriers among the lenders, IT companies, warehouse banks, servicers and title/settlement providers surveyed. Survey participants said there was a lack of support for funding eNotes by warehouse banks, a source many mortgage lenders rely on.
Nine publicly traded mortgage companies posted a combined $52.22 million in mortgage banking earnings for the third quarter of 2017, according to a new analysis by Inside Mortgage Trends. The group’s third-quarter results represented a healthy 86.4 percent improvement over the paltry $28.02 million they earned from their core businesses during the April-June cycle. But the aggregate figures don’t begin to describe the state of most of these nonbank ... [Includes one data chart]
Mortgage lenders that sell single-family loans into Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgage-backed securities continued to stretch the credit envelope during the third quarter, a new Inside Mortgage Trends analysis reveals. But the increase in the share of higher-risk lending is still going at a glacial pace, and low-risk mortgages continue to dominate the government-sponsored enterprises’ business. During the third quarter, mortgages in the lowest ... [Includes two data charts]
Although mortgage companies are beginning to pare staff in anticipation of a seasonal production downturn, there appears to be a strong thirst for executive talent, as well as top managers looking elsewhere, according to interviews conducted over the past month by Inside Mortgage Trends. “Calls and e-mails from mortgage executives open to considering ‘a change’ usually spike at this time of year,” said Rick Glass, who runs the financial services recruitment firm that bears his name ...
As the mortgage industry continues evolving toward a 100 percent, end-to-end digital mortgage, automation and collaboration are playing essential roles, according to some top vendors. Bob Brandt, vice president of marketing and alliances at Optimal Blue, said, “The digital movement in the mortgage industry is all about automation – automation of the mortgage process truly from end to end: from lead generation to point of sale to processing and closing and the delivery of loans ...
Homebuyers’ “typical mortgage payment” has climbed about 10 percent in 2017 and may climb another 11 percent in 2018, according to a new analysis from CoreLogic. Company analysts attributed the payment change to rising mortgage rates over the past year. Typical mortgage payment (TMP) is a mortgage-rate-adjusted monthly payment based on each month’s median home-sale price. It is calculated using Freddie Mac’s average rate on a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage with ...