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...
After years of claiming that regulatory uncertainty was holding back mortgage originations, lenders appeared to be on their way toward certainty as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau established a definition for qualified mortgages at the beginning of this year. However, industry participants suggest that few originations of non-QMs are likely in the next few years due to uncertainty regarding litigation. “We don’t know how the courts are going to interpret the rule,” Jon Wishnia, a partner at the law firm of Lowenstein Sandler, said last week at the ABS East conference sponsored by Information Management Network in Miami. “That will really drive where the market goes.” CFPB officials have said...
Golf is for slackers. Inside Mortgage Finance knows of at least four veteran mortgage banking executives who, after “retiring,” are looking to reenter the business.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau this week updated certain provisions in its complex new mortgage servicing rules, most notably the interplay between the servicing rules and the U.S. bankruptcy code, and the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. “As servicing implementation enters its final phases, we heard from many sources that it was important to address these remaining issues to ensure a smooth transition and provide certainty to the market,” said CFPB Director Richard Cordray. “When mortgage servicers better understand the rules they have to follow, that is better for consumers.” One of the latest hot buttons to emerge regarding the servicing rules has been...
Still, one industry lobbyist warns that with Cory Booker’s election to the Senate, the White House may be willing to exert more influence to advance Mel Watt’s nomination to head the FHFA.
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.
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.
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