A recent study by the U.S. Governmental Accountability Office recommended that Congress consider granting the Federal Housing Finance Agency more authority to examine third parties, such as nonbanks, that do business with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.Although nonbank servicers are subject to oversight by federal and state regulators and monitoring by Fannie and Freddie, the GAO wants to see greater regulation. It said in light of recent nonbank growth, the FHFA’s indirect oversight of third parties that do business with the GSEs is not enough.“FHFA lacks statutory authority to examine these third parties to identify and address deficiencies that could affect the enterprises.

Examiners did not meet the requirements for making sure that one of the GSEs corrects serious deficiencies, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s Office of Inspector General. In a recent report, the OIG said that there were certain instances where FHFA’s guidance “fell short.” The report noted that when the OIG reviewed whether examiners followed FHFA policy regarding an issue opened by a GSE in 2013, 30 months later the Matter Requiring Attention (MRA) remained unresolved. Among the shortcomings identified were the examiner’s acceptance of the GSE’s proposed remediation plan despite the fact it failed to address all of the issues in the division of enterprise regulation and not preparing an internal procedures plan to...

A letter from 45 Congressmen that circulated in early March urging the Federal Housing Finance Agency and the Department of Housing and Urban Development to reform their nonperforming loan programs prompted two committee chairs to ask the agencies to reject the changes. They said the proposals are only “advancing political agendas.” Rep. Jeb Hensarling, R-TX, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee and Richard Shelby, R-AL, chairman on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, penned a letter to the FHFA and HUD on March 21 stating that many of the changes suggested by housing advocates and Congress would negatively impact the program’s fundamental purpose.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s Office of Inspector General released five reports this week examining everything from corporate governance to examiner issues. The two reports released on March 31 focused on the board’s of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The OIG found that the there are “serious deficiencies” in the GSEs boards when it comes to managing Fannie Mae’s and Freddie Mac’s remediation efforts. The report said the board could become “no more than a bystander to management’s efforts to remediate matters requiring attention.” One of the reports also noted that while the board has made progress in overseeing cyber risk, much more needs to be done.

CFPB Director Richard Cordray last week defended the approach his agency has taken in its public enforcement actions, which many in the industry have criticized as “regulation by enforcement.” “I think that criticism is badly misplaced,” Cordray said Wednesday in a speech at a meeting of the Consumer Bankers Association in Phoenix. Certainly, he said, any responsible official charged with enforcing the law has to recognize that he should be thoughtful in how he deploys his agency’s limited resources most efficiently to protect the public. “That means working toward a pattern of actions that conveys an intelligible direction to the marketplace, so as to create deterrence that can be readily understood and implemented,” said the CFPB chief. The alternative, as ...

The U.S. District Court for the Central District of California last week granted the CFPB’s request for a final judgement against debt relief company Morgan Drexen, Inc., bringing to an end a lawsuit filed by the bureau back in August 2013. The agency alleged that the company and its leadership charged illegal upfront fees for debt relief services and misrepresented their services to consumers. According to the CFPB, when consumers signed up for Morgan Drexen’s services, the company presented them with two contracts, one for debt settlement services and one for bankruptcy-related services. Based on its investigation, the bureau brought suit alleging that consumers who signed up sought services for debt relief and not bankruptcy, that little to no bankruptcy ...

Last week, the CFPB asked the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California Southern Division to enter a final judgment and order that would shut down Student Loan Processing.US, and crack down on its sole owner, James Krause, for allegedly charging borrowers millions of dollars in illegal upfront fees for federal student loan services. The order would also require the company to pay refunds to thousands of consumers the bureau says were harmed, as well as a civil money penalty. In December 2014, the CFPB sued the company and Krause, alleging they illegally marketed and sold services promising to advise and assist borrowers applying for Department of Education student loan repayment programs. According to the bureau’s complaint, the ...

After much discussion over the past two years, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority put out a request for comment last week regarding its proposed amendments to shorten the settlement cycle for U.S. secondary market transactions from three business days to two business days by late 2017. Industry representatives said a shorter, two-day settlement timeframe will promote financial stability and significantly mitigate risks to the financial system. FINRA seeks specific input regarding the direct or indirect impacts that the change may have on investors. The last time the settlement cycle was shortened was in 1995, when it went from five business days after the trade date to the current three days. Since then, the Securities and Exchange Commission and financial services ...

If Freddie Mac needs a cash draw from the U.S. Treasury this year because of hedging losses, the Treasury Department could avoid tapping taxpayer funds by changing the quarterly sweep of the government-sponsored enterprise’s profits to an annual payment. That way, cash could stay on the books of a GSE longer and could be tapped in the event of a loss. At least that’s the legal theory being kicked around by several industry officials – including trade group representatives – who fear the political ramifications of a GSE needing Treasury assistance. To change the quarterly earnings sweep, the Federal Housing Finance Agency in conjunction with Treasury would have to change the terms of the conservatorships by altering the preferred stock...

In hopes of clearing up some disputes among banks about the effectiveness of property evalua-tions, federal banking regulatory agencies clarified when it is appropriate to use evaluations in place of the more detailed appraisals in real estate transactions. The Office of the Comptroller of Currency, along with the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., said in a joint advisory last week that there are three types of transactions where an appraisal is not required and an evaluation is permitted. The agencies did point out that an appraisal may be necessary for secondary-market transactions. Home price is the first consideration. Evaluations can be used in transactions in which the loan...