Although there appears to be strong interest these days in mortgage banking firms, the outlook isn’t particularly bright for commercial banks.

“Law enforcement has been on a bit of a run with settlements and enforcement," said Jim Parrott, a former Obama administration point man on housing.

The FHFA partially agreed with the IG's first recommendation and flatly rejected the second.

The 16, which include the Mortgage Bankers Association and American Bankers Association, want the CFPB to deepen its engagement using industry forums.

The Mortgage Bankers Association wants the FHFA to push Fannie and Freddie to go easy on mortgage buybacks.

David Stevens, who led the FHA for part of the financial crisis, recalled difficult times dealing with policymakers and appropriators.

“The conservatorships are a huge barrier to entry for private capital,” said former FHFA Acting Director Edward DeMarco.

Industry Tries to Rustle Up Support for QM Points-and-Fees Legislation. The Mortgage Action Alliance, the grassroots advocacy group of the Mortgage Bankers Association, recently issued a “call to action” to its members to get on the telephone and call their Senators and urge them to pass legislation that would make key changes to the way points and fees are calculated under the qualified mortgage definition in the CFPB’s ability-to-repay rule. S. 1577, the Mortgage Choice Act of 2013, introduced last year by Sen. Joe Manchin, D-WV, exempts any affiliated title charges and escrow charges for taxes and insurance from the QM cap on points and fees. Manchin’s bill is a legislative companion to H.R. 3211, the Mortgage Choice Act, which ...

Last week, the law firm of Fredrick J. Hanna & Associates filed a motion to dismiss the enforcement action brought by the CFPB against it back in July. The bureau accused the firm and its three principal partners – Frederick Hanna, Joseph Cooling and Robert Winter – of operating a debt-collection lawsuit mill that used illegal tactics to intimidate consumers into paying debts they may not owe.Between 2009 and 2013, the firm filed more than 350,000 debt-collection lawsuits in Georgia alone, according to the CFPB. The bureau further alleged the defendants collected millions of dollars each year through these lawsuits, often from consumers who may not actually have owed the debts.But in its motion to dismiss, Hanna & Associates argued ...

The CFPB’s Office of Inspector General has a handful of ongoing reviews and audits underway with a projected fourth-quarter completion date, most notably audits of the bureau’s contract management and hiring processes. The OIG said its audit of the CFPB’s contract management process is a follow-up to the evaluation of the bureau’s contract solicitation and selection process. The OIG’s focus this time around will include the CFPB’s compliance with applicable rules established by what’s known as the Federal Acquisition Regulation, and the effectiveness of the bureau’s internal controls related to contract management. On a related note, the OIG is also evaluating the bureau’s hiring process, including its administration of recruitment and selection incentives to recruit new employees. This review was ...