Officials at Walter Investment Management revealed that the nonbank servicer is in talks with the CFPB and the Federal Trade Commission to settle a potential enforcement action by the federal regulators likely involving Green Tree Servicing LLC, its wholly owned subsidiary. The disclosure was made in the company’s Form 10-Q filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission late last week. Here’s the background: In response to a civil investigative demand from the FTC issued in November 2010 and a CID from the CFPB in September 2012, Green Tree Servicing produced “documents and other information concerning a wide range of its loan servicing operations,” Walter said. On Oct. 7, 2013, the CFPB notified Green Tree Servicing that bureau staff was considering...
In its first government referral, the Online Interest-Based Advertising Accountability Program last week referred SunTrust Bank Inc. to the CFPB after SunTrust allegedly refused to participate in the advertising industry’s self-regulatory process. The Accountability Program said it uses this “cooperative inquiry process” to help companies understand and comply with the cross-industry Self-Regulatory Principles for Online Behavioral Advertising. "As part of its ongoing monitoring and enforcement processes regarding website operators’ duty to provide consumers with transparency and control of OBA,” the Accountability Program said it sent a letter of inquiry to SunTrust after examining the bank’s website and observing “third parties known to be engaged in collecting consumers’ web browsing activity in order to serve them interest-based ads.” Citing the OBA...
The mortgage lending industry caught a break recently when the CFPB proposed a much-sought “right to cure” a mortgage that would otherwise be considered a qualified mortgage under the bureau’s ability-to-repay rule, except for an inadvertent deviation from the 3 percent points-and-fees cap. The points and fees charged to a consumer on a QM loan generally cannot exceed 3 percent of the loan principal, with higher thresholds specified for various categories of loans below $100,000. If a lender believes, in good faith, that it has offered a QM but afterwards discovers that it has exceeded the 3 percent cap, the proposed rule issued by the CFPB lays out limited circumstances under which the excess can be refunded and still have...
Members of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee from each party said there is interest on Capitol Hill in moving technical corrections legislation aimed at the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. However, housing finance reform legislation comes first, said Sen. Bob Corker, R-TN, and Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, D-ND, in comments to attendees at the Independent Community Bankers Association of America’s recent 2014 Washington policy summit. Neither explained exactly why housing reform is the priority, but one observer speculated that, in football terms, “it’s probably because housing reform is closer to the goal line.” Given the suddenly deteriorating prospects for the leading measure in that regard, the so-called Johnson-Crapo bill, that doesn’t bode well for those...
All lenders authorized to process VA loans automatically are required to maintain a QC plan and execute it in the course of originating government backed mortgages.
Nationstar made “right-party” contact with delinquent borrowers to determine their eligibility for HAMP in only 65 percent of such cases from March 2013 through February, the government found.
AAG, NCRC Announces Fair Lending Partnership in Reverse Mortgages. American Advisors Group, ranked first among the nation’s Home Equity Conversion Mortgage lenders in 2013 by Inside FHA Lending, has collaborated with the National Community Reinvestment Coalition to ensure fair lending to older borrowers. Through this partnership, AAG employees will complete an NCRC fair housing training course. In addition, the AAG will consult with NCRC to develop best practices for complying with the Fair Housing Act. An umbrella group of more than 600 community-based organizations, the NCRC will also serve as an adviser to AAG in providing HECM mortgages to qualified borrowers age 62 or older. AAG Chief Executive Officer Reza Jahangiri said the partnership is a huge step toward the promotion of fair lending practices and responsible lending. AAG was the top HECM lender in 2013 with $1.4 billion in total originations representing ...
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