The so-called QM Plus alternative for defining qualified residential mortgages under the emerging risk-retention rule for asset securitizations threatens the intent of the Dodd-Frank Act to balance consumer protection and fair access to credit, a top industry official said last week. “We really think that the QM Plus provision goes way too far in tipping the balance” between consumer protection and access to credit, David Stevens, president and CEO of the Mortgage Bankers Association, said during a webinar last week sponsored by Inside Mortgage Finance. The revised risk-retention/QRM rule jointly released by a handful of federal agencies in August would align...
Five federal regulatory agencies have issued a joint proposed rule to implement certain provisions of the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012 regarding private flood insurance, escrow of flood insurance payments and forced-placement of flood insurance. The proposal would affect loans secured by property in a special flood hazard area (SFHA), which is defined as an area within a floodplain having a one percent or greater chance of flooding in any given year. The rash of catastrophic flooding seen in recent years across the country has underscored the need for stronger flood insurance regulations. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Federal Reserve Board, Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., Farm Credit Administration and the National Credit Union Administration are revising...
Since the summer, the regulator has been pondering reducing the current $417,000 maximum loan limit and the “high cost” limit of $625,500. At the earliest, a change could come by January.
The CFPB also said it is exempting servicers from being required to provide periodic account statements and certain early intervention contacts with borrowers who are in bankruptcy.
The low profile of the FHLBs, which has served the system so well in the past, has become a “sizable policy risk” as the relatively few people who will be directing housing finance reform know what the system does.
“The exodus of a majority of the pre-crisis nonbank entities within the mortgage arena provides an opportunity for banks to re-establish their position within the mortgage market,” according to regulators in Connecticut.
Clayton noted 907 compliance findings from its review. However, Fitch said the findings were deemed to be out of scope and waived by Fannie due to the limited scope of its post-close review for compliance.
Rumors abound about mortgage firms either closing or laying off staff. Meanwhile, Auction.com, known for selling troubled real estate for banks and other investors, is offering up a $600 million pool of performing multifamily mortgages.
KBRA pointed out that one jumbo MBS issuer said it will accept mortgages where lenders have implemented procedures to either close the loans with an exception or review IRS transcripts post-closing.
RSS