The Department of Housing and Urban Development has charged Fifth Third Bank and a mortgage broker with discrimination for allegedly requiring medical proof from a couple with disabilities who were seeking FHA refinancing. Fifth Third Bank, Fifth Third Mortgage Co. and Cranbrook Mortgage Corp. were accused of violating the Fair Housing Act, which makes it illegal for creditors to deny or discriminate against borrowers based on disability, race, color, religion, national origin, gender or family status, including imposing different application or criteria on protected classes. The married couple, whose names HUD withheld, receive ...
Many of the lenders with high default rates are smaller companies while those with larger portfolios tend to perform better than the national average, according to Inside FHA Lendings analysis of compare ratios on two-year FHA loan portfolios. The compare ratio is the percentage of a lenders default and claim rate compared to the national average. It is shown as a numerical value, which HUD uses to determine lender performance. A compare ratio of over 150 percent will land a lender on HUDs watch list and a ratio greater than 200 percent could result ... [1 chart]
The Department of Veterans Affairs has announced it will accept electronic signatures in closing home loans with a VA guaranty. The VA said lenders are not required to use electronic signatures in VA loans but if they choose to, they must comply with the Federal Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act, or the E-Sign Act. The measure was signed into law in June 2000. The E-Sign Act establishes the baseline rules for Internet commerce, including nondiscrimination between handwritten and electronic signatures. The law also requires that electronic records be ...
VA Loan Guaranty: New Percentage to Determine Net Value of Collateral. The Department of Veterans Affairs has revised the percentage lenders and mortgage holders in the VA loan guaranty program use in calculating the purchase price of a property that secured a terminated loan. Effective Oct. 8, 2013, the new percentage is 14.95 percent, up from 11.87 percent, which has been in place for the past 12 years. North Carolina Amends Anti-Predatory Lending Law. The Tar Heel State enacted HB 692 on Aug. 23 to strengthen current consumer protections against ...
Some trade groups, including the California Mortgage Bankers Association and National Association of Realtors are not happy with the idea of lower loan limits.
Federal regulators dealt the private mortgage insurance industry a setback last week when they opted to ignore the presence of private MI coverage in defining qualified residential mortgages under a new proposed rule governing securitization. The new rule will require issuers of mortgage securities that are not backed by QRMs to retain a 5 percent share of the risk. As a practical matter, it wont apply to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac business as long as the government-sponsored enterprises are in conservatorship, although this exemption would not necessarily be extended to any post-GSE entity that Congress may create. If the agencies stick...
Look for an update late Thursday on the sale of Cole Taylor Mortgage. Meanwhile, does anyone care that credit unions are holding 30-year jumbo mortgages in portfolio?
With the most significant collection of regulations to hit the mortgage industry in decades just a few months away from implementation, mortgage lenders are feeling tremendous pressure and continue to clamor for relief from regulators. Last week, the Mortgage Bankers Association asked the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau for a grace period of six to 12 months before it takes enforcement actions under any of the new mortgage rules implementing the Dodd-Frank Act. Since the rules were issued...