The federal government seized control of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac by extra-legal means during the 2008 financial crisis and then went out of its way to curtail the two government-sponsored enterprises’ profits while unjustly denying GSE shareholders just compensation for their deliberately devalued holdings, according to a lawsuit filed this week. The suit filed by GSE shareholders in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims in Washington, DC, asserts the takeover of Fannie and Freddie by the Federal Housing Finance Agency was “unlawful and unwarranted” and an unconstitutional violation of due process which cost investors billions of dollars. “Even if a statutory basis existed...

Some experts are predicting that the new ability-to-repay rule issued by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which sets the boundaries of “qualified mortgages,” will also lead some lenders to focus on so-called non-QM loans that will become the new subprime market. At the American Bankers Association’s regulatory compliance conference, held this week in Chicago, ABA Senior Regulatory Counsel Rodrigo Alba said publicly what many mortgage bankers have been thinking privately. Responding to a comment from one banker who said her institution might opt to do only non-QM lending, just for simplicity’s sake, Alba said, “Wanted or not, this may start leaning into being the new subprime.” He added...

Community lenders are lobbying for significant exemptions to the Dodd-Frank Act and based on their track record and support in Washington, DC, they might be successful. The Community Mortgage Lenders of America released draft legislation this week known as “The Community Mortgage Lenders Act of 2013.” The bill would exempt community lenders from a number of mortgage requirements in the DFA and beyond. The bill defines...

Speaking at a trade show gathering, the ABA's Chris Lewis urged bankers to educate upper management as well as front-line loan officers about the finer nuances of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s ATR rule.

FHA officials had sought the legislation so they can act quickly to address problems involving the troubled HECM program.

Five different nonbank lenders were asked by Inside Mortgage Finance to name the slowest states in terms of approval times. All cited New York as being among the worst.

Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-NY, countered that a purely non-agency mortgage market would be “a disaster to our economy.”

The Inspector General of HUD plans to expand audits of FHA servicers later this year.

The M&A rumor mill continues to spit out names. An offering book is circulating on CashCall and at least one other shop, IMF has learned.

One banker said her institution might opt to do only non-Qualified Mortgage lending, just for simplicity’s sake.