Government lawyers have run the numbers again and have now concluded that Bank of America should pay a lot more than the initially-sought $864 million penalty over mortgage fraud related to Countrywide Financial’s “Hustle” program. The Justice Department filed papers with Manhattan Federal Judge Jed Rakoff Wednesday requesting the Charlotte-based BofA be fined $2.1 billion for Countrywide’s fraudulent sale of toxic mortgages to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in the years leading up to the financial crisis.

A Manhattan federal bankruptcy court last week approved Lehman Brother’s proposed $2 billion-plus settlement that would end an $18.9 billion claim filed against the defunct investment bank by Fannie Mae over soured mortgage securities. Judge James Peck of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York signed off on the settlement agreement between Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. and the government-sponsored enterprise, as well as Lehman’s wholly owned subsidiaries Aurora Commercial Group and Aurora Loan Services. ALS was a large Alt A lender/servicer.

Also, the CFPB is considering requiring more underwriting and pricing information, such as the interest rate, total origination charges, and discount points.

Among other issues, the GAO found that for three of the servicers, their denial rates were significantly higher for Hispanics than for the comparison population of non-Hispanic whites.

According to Inside Mortgage Finance, one thing is clear: the commercial banking industry is continuing to shed MSRs, at least in aggregate.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau also decided to eliminate the list of CFPB team members participating in a review.

Despite the findings of the Inspector General's office regarding appraisal reviews, the GSEs’ recent books of business are considered to be of pristine quality.

Mortgage executives are praying that even though eminent domain plans have been talked about and brought to a vote in a handful of cities, that it never gets used.

Nonbank mortgage servicers continued to grow their portfolios during the fourth quarter of 2013, as market stalwarts pulled aside and gave them room to accelerate, according to a new market analysis and ranking by Inside Mortgage Finance. Nine nonbank companies ranked in the top 30 mortgage servicers as of the end of last year, and they held an estimated $1.69 trillion in mortgage servicing. Several of the top nonbank lenders have not yet reported fourth-quarter earnings, and the group’s total servicing could be higher as more data come to light. Moreover, most of the nonbanks have pipelines of pending bulk and flow acquisitions, meaning they will continue...[Includes one data chart]

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has decided to streamline its post-examination reporting, apparently in response to banker concerns about prompt feedback regarding lender compliance with federal consumer financial laws. In a new supervisory highlights report, the CFPB said it would stop using written recommendations – opting for oral, on‐site guidance instead. The bureau also will combine all issues it expects a bank to address into a single section called “matters requiring attention.” The agency also decided...