Consumer complaints to the CFPB about their mortgages again dropped off during the fourth quarter of the calendar, but were still up 25.2 percent for the 12-month period ending Dec. 31, 2013, versus one year prior, a new analysis by Inside the CFPB shows. One pattern that has emerged over the last nine quarters is that mortgage gripes have been comparatively low during the fourth quarter, only to surge during the next three quarters, and then fall off again in the next three-month period. During the most recent cycle, that has translated into a 33.3...

The U.S. District Court for the Central District of California has rejected a legal challenge to the constitutionality of the CFPB that was brought by debt relief firm Morgan Drexen, which became the subject of a bureau enforcement action after the filing. Back in July, Morgan Drexen sued the bureau in federal district court in Washington, DC, challenging the constitutionality of the agency, as well as accusing it of “data mining” and attempting to obtain sensitive bankruptcy information protected by attorney-client privilege...

Last week, the CFPB ordered a Missouri mortgage lender, Fidelity Mortgage Corp., and its former owner and current president, Mark Figert, to pay $81,076 to settle allegations it funneled “illegal kickbacks” to a bank in exchange for loan referrals. The bureau charged that Fidelity, a St. Louis-based non-depository mortgage lender, entered into an agreement with an unnamed bank in which the bank referred potential borrowers to Fidelity in exchange for kickbacks. The kickbacks were disguised as inflated lease payments...

While most mortgage lenders continue to insist they won’t originate new loans that fall outside the CFPB’s “qualified mortgage” parameters, one notable exception is San Francisco-based Bank of the West, which recently announced it will continue to offer interest-only mortgages, despite the fact such loans do not qualify for QM status. “We extensively reviewed the CFPB’s rules and found them broadly consistent with how Bank of the West has always done business,” said Paul Wible, senior executive vice president and head of the bank’s...

The CFPB’s recently released semiannual regulatory agenda indicates the bureau plans to remain on a robust mortgage-related rulemaking schedule, although not at the blistering pace seen one year ago when it issued a handful of game-changing rules for the mortgage lending and servicing sectors. The CFPB said it is “continuing rulemaking activities to assist in the full implementation of, and facilitate compliance with, various mortgage-related final rules issued by the bureau in January 2013, strengthening consumer protections involving...

With the mortgage industry having failed to delay implementation of the CFPB’s ability-to-repay rule/qualified mortgage standard, industry representatives have shifted gears and are now pressing for numerous alterations to the bureau’s controversial rule, which took effect Jan. 10. During a hearing last week before the House Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit, the Mortgage Bankers Association had a number of recommendations, including abandoning the “rebuttable presumption” level of legal...

It’s too early to say how the January effective dates for a handful of game-changing rules from the CFPB are going to affect mortgage lenders and servicers. The real test will be what happens when the CFPB shows up at the door and wants to sit down and have a look around. The short-term implications of the bureau’s new rules likely won’t be any big deal, according to Scott Stucky, chief operating officer of DocuTech Corp., a provider of compliance and document technology...

Moody’s notes that all three have grown their production operations – a positive – but question whether over the long term whether they can compete with banks in the “prime” market.

The change resulted in the cessation of dividend payments by the GSEs to Treasury, replacing it with a “sweep” of all almost net profits earned by Fannie and Freddie.

Ginnie Mae, Japan Sign Joint MOU; Russia Gets Help In Launching First MI. Ginnie Mae is helping Japan and Russia transition from their current secondary mortgage market structures to the U.S. company’s model. On Jan. 9, Ginnie Mae and Japan Housing Finance Agency signed a joint memorandum of understanding to exchange information and help Japan create a securities program tailored after Ginnie Mae’s successful mortgage-backed securities program. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has directed the JHFA to make the transition within three to five years. Under the MOU, the two countries will hold ...