A ruling last week by the Supreme Court of the United States was viewed by the Mortgage Bankers Association as potentially making it harder for plaintiffs to win class-action certifications. Spokeo, Inc. v. Robins involves alleged violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Thomas Robins filed a class-action lawsuit against Spokeo, alleging that his profile on the firm’s website contained inaccurate information. Spokeo is an online aggregator of individuals’ contact- and credit-information. The case was initially dismissed...
A final rule issued last week by the Department of Labor updating overtime regulations for white collar employees didn’t include many concessions called for by mortgage industry participants. The final rule sets the standard salary level for exempt executive, administrative, professional, outside sales, and computer employees, referred to as EAP employees, at the 40th percentile of weekly earnings of full-time salaried workers in the lowest-wage Census Region. The final rule effectively doubled the salary white collar workers must be paid to be exempt from receiving overtime pay for working more than 40 hours a week. The new standard will result...
The House this week approved legislation making it easier for loan officers working for depository institutions to go to work for nonbanks. Separately, the Senate last week approved a $39.2 billion fiscal 2017 funding bill for the Department of Housing and Urban Development. By a unanimous voice vote, House lawmakers approved H.R. 2121, the SAFE Transitional Licensing Act. The legislation provides for a 120-day temporary license for registered loan originators who change jobs and makes for an easier transition when moving from a financial institution to a state-licensed nonbank or to another state. Introduced last April by Rep. Steve Stivers, R-OH, the bill would require...
Roofing and attic inspections, verifying whether a pool is operational and safe to use, checking sump pumps for any deficiency and checking crawl spaces elicited groans from appraisers...
Litigation settlements, of course, have played a role in the resurgence in profits at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, though the legal gravy train is just about over for those two.
National Council of State Housing Agencies Executive Director Barbara Thompson said the group is awaiting what she calls a “positive resolution of the issue.”
The SAFE Transitional Licensing Act of 2015 had strong support from the Mortgage Bankers Association, The Community Home Lenders Association and other trade groups.
Bad news for specialty servicers: Black Knight Financial Services said 58,700 foreclosures were started during April, the lowest reading in 10 years...