HSBC North America Holdings agreed to a $470.0 million settlement late last week with the Department of Justice, 49 state attorneys general and other regulators. The settlement is similar to the $25 billion settlement five big banks agreed to in 2012 and suggests that regulators aren’t finished focusing on servicing issues that occurred during the financial crisis. “The agreement is part of our ongoing effort to address root causes of the financial crisis,” said Benjamin Mizer, a principal deputy assistant attorney general and head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. The HSBC settlement includes...

The mortgage banking and real estate industries this week called on the Department of Veterans Affairs to adopt policy changes to improve the VA Home Loan Guaranty program. In a hearing week before the House Committee on Veterans Affairs, Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity, the Mortgage Bankers Association and the National Association of Realtors offered several changes that could further enhance the program. Testifying on behalf of the MBA, James Danis II, president of the Residential Mortgage Corp., urged...

At year-end, Arch MI had $6.83 billion of risk-in-force...

In general, the OCC doesn't like the idea of banks funding loans with LTV ratios above 90 percent unless the mortgage has appropriate credit support...

Now, for the obvious question: With greater profits coming, will HUD allow FHA to cut premiums?

Falling rates are great for the mortgage industry, right? Yes and no...

For now, the CFPB isn't talking about the matter...

The White House still wants to kill Fannie and Freddie, but in the meantime it benefits from the their healthy revenue streams...

In its new annual budget, the White House declares that the FHA mutual mortgage insurance fund is vulnerable to “Black Swans...”

Quicken said it "will evaluate all bids once received and make the decision to partner with one or two providers. Our plan is to reevaluate this process regularly."