As they approach their eighth year in conservatorship, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac generate a lot of revenue for the government and dominate the conventional-conforming mortgage market. But both government-sponsored enterprises are forced to hold less and less capital, and a bad quarter or two could force another round of bailouts. Aside from lawsuits by disgruntled GSE shareholders, pressure appears to be growing for a new approach that would allow the two to rebuild their capital. According to reports, Rep. Mick Mulvaney, R-SC, may introduce such a bill in one of the least hospitable places it could land, the House Financial Services Committee. As of press time Mulvaney’s office has not returned...

Concerns about litigation and various pricing issues have combined to suppress originations of non-qualified mortgages to borrowers who aren’t affluent, according to industry analysts. Since the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s ability-to-repay rule and QM standards took effect in early 2014, a certain portion of the non-QM market has held up fairly well: interest-only mortgages. However, the loans tend to be available solely for affluent borrowers, while non-QM originations for less-than-prime borrowers remain limited. Most non-QM lenders are targeting...

The Oct. 3, 2015, effective date for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s integrated disclosure rule is just weeks away, leaving the mortgage industry a shrinking window of time in which to convince members of Congress and the White House to provide regulatory relief. Although Republicans likely have enough votes to force a multi-prong regulatory relief bill through both chambers of Congress, the Obama administration appears to remain opposed, even if the White House has been sitting on the sidelines and completely disengaged. “On the TRID [implementation] extension, there’s...

There is no doubt that nonbank mortgage lenders are as heavily regulated as banks when it comes to consumer protection, some industry executives say, but the level of scrutiny for safety and soundness may be higher for depository institutions. The Community Home Lenders Association asserts that nonbanks are subject to more consumer protections than banks and have virtually identical regulatory burdens imposed by product regulations such as those for the FHA, VA, Ginnie Mae, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. “While nonbanks are heavily regulated at the state level, they are...

The CFPB’s QM standards currently don’t differ for loans held in portfolio or sold to other outlets.

All issuers must comply with the revised requirements, which take effect immediately, in order to remain an eligible participant in the Ginnie Mae program.

The judge presiding over the case ruled that securities law regulates "disclosure of information, not the mismanagement of a company...”

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with the CFPB on its interpretation of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act, but refused to “give deference” to the amicus brief in which the bureau’s argument was presented. “Here, CFPB is interpreting the statute, not the regulation. An agency’s interpretation of the statute – when presented in an amicus brief – is not promulgated in the exercise of its formal rulemaking authority, so no … deference is warranted,” ruled the court. Further, even if certain terms in the statute also appear in the regulation, the CFPB “is in fact interpreting Congress’s words in the statute, so we give no deference to CFPB’s interpretation,” the court said. “In addition, because the statutory terms at issue ...

Members of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives are returning to Washington, DC, this week, after their August recess concluded with the Labor Day holiday weekend. That means mortgage industry officials have less than one month to convince Congress and the Obama administration to sign off on regulatory relief from the CFPB’s pending TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure (TRID) rule, which kicks in Oct. 3, 2015. Last week, the Mortgage Bankers Association began a grass-roots lobbying campaign urging its members to get in touch with their respective members of Congress to support legislation that would establish a temporary enforcement grace period and legal safe harbor under the TRID. “A temporary legal safe harbor for lenders will ensure the new requirements are ...

The requirements associated with the CFPB’s pending TILA/RESPA Integrated Disclosure (TRID) rule will likely prompt a majority of Realtors to alter their purchase contracts, according to the results of a new survey from the National Association of Realtors. “When asked about their plans to deal with the new TRID rules, 55.9 percent of Realtors plan to change their purchase agreements to reflect a longer timeline, while 31.2 percent will add contingencies to the contract,” the survey said. Also, 37.0 percent of respondents indicated they have put together plans with their lender or title company to help even out the process, while a significant share plan to perform final inspections earlier (32.5 percent) or will provide contracts and amendments to the ...