Mortgage lending representatives told the CFPB they support its proposal to temporarily increase the institutional and transactional coverage thresholds for open-end lines of credit under the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act. However, more needs to be done along those lines, they said in comment letters filed at the end of last month. Under the CFPB’s HMDA rules scheduled to take effect in January 2018, financial institutions are generally required to report HELOCs if they made 100 such loans in each of the past two years. Under the proposal released early last month, the bureau would increase that threshold to 500 loans through calendar years 2018 and 2019 in order to give the agency the time to consider whether to make a ...
Although Fannie and Freddie continue to earn money hand over fist, their common shares are probably worth just $1 a piece, according to a new research report…
Will He? Won’t He? Run for Governor of Ohio, That Is. The top consumer regulator in the land, Richard Cordray, head of the CFPB, has until 4 p.m. Feb. 7, 2018, to file the necessary paperwork to run in the Ohio gubernatorial primary in May of next year. Current Republican Gov. John Kasich is term-limited and will have to vacate the governor’s mansion at the end of 2018.... CFPB Fines JPMorgan Chase $4.6 Million for Alleged Failures Related to Checking Account Screening Information. The CFPB recently brought an enforcement action against JPMorgan Chase Bank, alleging that it violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act by not having adequate policies in place regarding the accuracy of information it provided to nationwide specialty consumer reporting companies about individuals’ checking account behavior....
In the event of a severe global recession, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could need a bailout of up to $99.6 billion, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s annual stress test report released this week. The test of severely-adverse scenarios, required by the Dodd-Frank Act for companies with consolidated assets of more than $10 billion, is based on Fannie and Freddie portfolios as of Dec. 31, 2016. The bailout would be needed on an incremental basis and would also depend on the treatment of the GSEs’ tax-deferred assets. Under this hypothetical economic scenario, elevated stress in corporate financial and commercial real estate markets include situations where...
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac earnings remained strong in the second quarter with the GSEs posting a combined $4.86 billion in net income, but concerns about the soon to be non-existent capital buffer also remain. The GSEs’ $9.85 billion in net income for the first half of the year more than doubled their combined earnings from the same time period in 2016, according to their second quarter earnings statements released last week. While Fannie posted a net income of $3.20 billion, a 15.4 percent quarterly improvement, Freddie witnessed a 24.7 percent decline to $1.66 billion in the second quarter.
Although Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Mel Watt is concerned about the GSE capital buffer falling to zero early next year, it appears he’s unlikely to take administrative action anytime soon to fix the situation. At least that’s the message conveyed in a new letter Watt penned to National Association of Realtors President William Brown. According to the Aug. 9 letter, Watt notes he’s “very concerned” about the issue because it “increases the probability of a draw which could cause an adverse market reaction.” The regulator adds: “However, I am sensitive to the prospect that whatever steps FHFA could take might be misperceived as either an effort...
PHH Corp. announced a $75 million settlement with the Department of Justice and the Federal Housing Finance Agency to settle unspecified allegations tied to the underwriting of legacy loans. However, whether Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans can be targeted for False Claims Act purposes is still debatable. The DOJ portion of the settlement covers FHA and VA mortgages originated from January 2006 until the end of 2011. …
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