Late last week, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau finalized revisions to some of its 2013 mortgage rules slated to take effect in January – mostly mortgage servicing and loan originator compensation regulations – whether the industry is ready or not. The amendments and clarifications that the bureau proposed in June – and now finalized via a final rules on Sept. 13 – include a number of changes sought by various industry groups. There were no big surprises between June and September, but some overlooked details, one of which was the CFPB determining that seller-paid points can be excluded from the 3 percent points-and-fees test for qualified mortgages under its ability-to-repay rule. “Seller’s points...are excluded...

Mortgage lenders reported originating $2.01 trillion in home-purchase and refinance mortgages during 2012, a 43.7 percent increase from the prior year, according to a new Inside Mortgage Finance analysis of Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data released this week. Because HMDA data typically capture a relatively small share of home-equity originations and some small lenders don’t report at all, the total originations number for last year was somewhat higher. Interestingly, the origination volume grew...[Includes one data chart]

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s amended final rule on ability to repay and qualified mortgages may have justifiable reasons but it is very complicated and difficult to implement, and likely to have unintended consequences, according to industry attorneys. Notwithstanding recent amendments to address concerns raised by the mortgage industry, the rule continues to pose challenges to lenders and attorneys in various areas. There are problems in the rule’s content and requirements as well as in developing policies and procedures to support it and the software to implement it, attorneys said. “We’re talking...

If FHFA lowers the Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac loan limit, will that business shift over to the FHA?

Charges paid by the seller for certain items are included in points and fees, such as a title insurance fee paid to an affiliate of a creditor.

Brokers and others who do business with Nationstar Mortgage said they’ve been hearing stories about two-week delays on funds being delivered. Meanwhile, FHA has run out of multifamily money.

The Comptroller is warning against a bank engaging in an exchange of participation interests in REO without first consulting with the regulator.

It appears that Integrated Financial Group of Pennsylvania is the latest victim of the mortgage downturn.

Who better than a former Wall Street executive to manage Fannie Mae's role in the common securitization platform project?

First, National MI files to go public, now Essent. One might assume the mortgage insurance industry is red hot.