Former CFPB enforcement attorney Jennifer Lee said the Circuit Court was hostile towards the CFPB’s arguments on statute of limitations, separation of powers, constitutionality of the agency and more...

Here's a product idea: hit a button on your cell phone and get foreclosed on...

For mortgage bankers, it was another trying week in TRID purgatory: A mid-sized nonbank exited the correspondent jumbo market because of concerns over legal liability and separately it appeared industry trade groups have given up hope that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will issue any type of formal guidance on cures. Meanwhile, the TRID scratch-and-dent market continues to hum along and the consumer watchdog agency has begun examining residential lenders for compliance with the integrated disclosure rule. “TRID exams have commenced...

Freedom Mortgage Corp. has agreed to pay the federal government $113 million to resolve alleged violations of the federal False Claims Act and FHA requirements in connection with the origination of FHA-insured single-family mortgages. The April 15 settlement agreement between the New Jersey-based mortgage lender and the Department of Justice comes in the wake of a record $1.2 billion settlement between DOJ and Wells Fargo, which earlier admitted to false certification of defective mortgages for FHA insurance and failure to file timely reports on several thousand loans that were materially defective or badly underwritten. Like Wells Fargo, Freedom Mortgage failed...

Closing times for purchase mortgages are starting to recover from delays tied to the TRID disclosure rule, according to results from the latest Campbell/Inside Mortgage Finance HousingPulse Tracking Survey. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s final rule combining disclosure requirements of the Truth in Lending Act and the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act took effect in early October. Average closing times for various mortgage types increased in the following months, though performance has improved recently, according to HousingPulse. For example, the original closing time for purchase mortgages with a downpayment of at least 20 percent where the loan will be delivered to the government-sponsored enterprises was...

A pilot effort by the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network is underway in New York City and Miami to track suspicious “all cash” purchases of high-end residential properties as part of the government’s anti-money laundering (AML) enforcement. In remarks during a recent AML conference in Florida, FinCEN Director Jennifer Shasky Calvery said geographic targeting orders (GTOs) were issued by the agency in January this year and went into effect on March 1. They require identification of high-end cash buyers to ensure luxury residences purchased with cash are not masking money laundering activities. Specifically, U.S. title insurance companies are temporarily required...

Borrowers saddled with student loan debt now have a better chance of qualifying for an FHA mortgage, thanks to a recent change in the way lenders factor such payments in the calculation of a borrower’s debt-to-income ratio. Under newly revised guidance announced by the FHA recently, lenders may apply the same calculation criteria used in the mortgage industry regardless of the type of student loan-payment plan (such as income-based payment plans) or a deferred-payment plan. Currently, there are...

Investors take note: The collateral has a current interest rate of 8.15 percent.

To date, Mid America has bought roughly $115 million worth of product with TRID errors...

Wells Fargo was the subject of more mortgage complaints than any other player in the sector. Then again, Wells is both the largest lender and servicer.