The Department of Housing and Urban Develoment defended itself against criticism by its own internal watchdog by underscoring steps it has taken to strengthen its ability to target and review high-risk, federally insured mortgage loans. Responding to a recent negative evaluation by its Office of the Inspector General, HUD said...

A coalition of mortgage lenders and homebuilders has asked the Federal Reserve Board to make compliance with two interim rules implementing the Mortgage Disclosure Improvement Act optional. The rules are intended to clarify previously issued regulations requiring mortgage lenders to disclose...

Arizona. The state Senate has passed S.B. 1259, which would require lenders to produce the full chain of title or risk the foreclosure sale being voided. The GOP-sponsored bill passed by a vote of 28-2 and is now being considered in the state House. The purpose of the bill is to require...

Federal regulators are deeply divided on the amount of fines and the scope of procedural changes that should be imposed against major mortgage servicers to settle state and federal claims of fraud and other improprieties in the home foreclosure process. While no settlement agreement has been reached...

House Republicans have voted, among other things, to slash initial funding for the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection by nearly 60 percent in an effort to curb the new agency’s oversight powers over banks and nonbanks. By a vote of 235 to 180, the House passed a new continuing resolution (H.R. 1), the Full Year Continuing Appropriations Act, which would limit...

The compensation formula that will most likely be used by mortgage loan originators to comply with the Federal Reserve’s final rule is a percentage of the loan-funded balance with a minimum floor, according to the California Association of Mortgage Professionals. In an analysis of the rule, the CAMP said MLOs will most likely choose...

The Federal Reserve Board has issued a final rule and sought comment on a proposed rule to revise escrow requirements for first-lien jumbo mortgage loans and first-lien, higher-priced mortgages, respectively. The changes to Regulation Z, which implements...

The Department of Justice and state attorneys general are watching the mortgage servicing arena closely for signs of unfair or discriminatory business practices, and whether minority borrowers are receiving loan modifications on par with similarly situated non-minority borrowers. While fair lending on the loan origination side remains...

The House Financial Services Committee intends to conduct a hearing to examine the impact of the Federal Reserve’s recent regulation governing compensation to mortgage loan originators. In its oversight plan for the 112th Congress, the HFSC expressed concern that the Fed’s LO pay rules, which take effect April 1, may have an adverse impact on...

The Small Business Administration has joined other stakeholders in asking the Federal Reserve Board to postpone the April 1 implementation date of its final rule on mortgage loan originator compensation. In a recent letter, the SBA’s Office of Advocacy said the compliance guidance for small businesses it had requested...