Last month’s surprise move by the Treasury Department to revise the preferred stock purchase agreements with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac definitively settles the question of “when” not “if” the two government-sponsored enterprises are to be wound down but it also removes any remaining sense of urgency to push a legislative solution to GSE reform, according to industry analysts. On Aug. 17, Treasury announced it will require Fannie and Freddie to turn over any profits they earn to the government. Rather than continue to borrow from the Treasury to make a 10 percent dividend payment to the Treasury, the revised PSPA implements a “full income sweep” of GSE profits. Additionally, Treasury’s announcement calls...

The battle over legacy MBS continues to rage in courts across the country as Bank of New York Mellon filed repurchase-related lawsuits against two financial institutions, Massachusetts Mutual was allowed to proceed with its claims against Countrywide, and a federal banking regulator sued major banks for alleged MBS misrepresentations. On Aug. 21, BNY Mellon, in its capacity as trustee for a pool of loans known as GE-WMC Mortgage Securities Trust 2006-1, sued WMC Mortgage and GE Mortgage Holdings for their alleged failure to repurchase approximately $680 million in defective residential mortgages. According to the lawsuit filed in New York state court, a holder of more than 25 percent of the voting rights under the pooling and servicing agreement notified...

One of the most worrisome elements to emerge so far in the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s proposed rule on mortgage loan originator compensation is the agency’s consideration of factors that may serve as proxies for prohibited transaction terms and how they may be used to restrict originator compensation. The CFPB proposal would implement statutory changes made by the Dodd-Frank Act to the Truth in Lending Act/Regulation Z loan originator compensation rule, including a new, additional restriction on the imposition of any upfront discount points, origination points or fees on consumers under certain circumstances. The proposal provides...

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac late this year will raise guaranty fees on single-family mortgages by another 10 basis points, under a directive that the government-sponsored enterprises’ conservator announced late last week. The g-fee increases will be effective on Dec. 1, 2012, for loans exchanged for mortgage-backed securities, and on Nov. 1, 2012, for loans sold for cash. According to FHFA Acting Director Edward DeMarco, who telegraphed the move in a notification to Congress earlier this summer, the g-fee increases are designed...

The initial progress report released last week on the national mortgage settlement drew attention to the early loss mitigation completed by the five banks participating in the settlement. However, Joseph Smith, the monitor of the $25.0 billion settlement, has also stressed that he is looking for noncompliance with the settlement’s 304 servicing standards. The Office of Mortgage Settlement Oversight allows borrowers and professionals assisting homeowners to detail experiences with servicers participating in the settlement. “It’s important for people in the marketplace to let me know if they see conduct that they think violates the settlement agreement,” Smith said. Smith said he has received...

The Small Business Administration is urging the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to delay making any changes until it has fully analyzed the impact of a proposed rule establishing new disclosure requirements and forms under integrated federal consumer protection regulations. Speaking on behalf of small banks and settlement service providers, the SBA’s Office of Advocacy in a comment letter warned that proposed changes to the finance charge and to the high-cost mortgage coverage test could potentially lead some small businesses to leave the marketplace or stop making mortgage loans. In addition, the agency reiterated its concerns about the inadequate notice for small entities about the proposal. On Aug. 23, the CFPB published...

The five big banks that are parties to the $25 billion national mortgage servicing settlement have granted more than $10 billion in consumer relief to borrowers – more than 80 percent of which took the form of short sales – between March 1 and June 30, 2012, according to a progress report from the Office of Mortgage Settlement Oversight. “Overall, 137,846 borrowers received some type of consumer relief during this period totaling $10.56 billion, which, on average, represents about $76,615 per borrower,”...

The U.S. Department of Justice showed its willingness to go after relative unknowns as well as the name brands in reaching a multi-million-dollar “pattern or practice” fair lending settlement with GFI Mortgage Bankers Inc., the mortgage banking unit of GFI Capital Resources Group that funds roughly $1 billion in residential mortgage loans annually. The federal government alleged that GFI engaged in a pattern or practice of discrimination by charging qualified African-American and Hispanic borrowers more for their...

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has extended the comment period for proposed changes that would create a new, higher “all in” annual percentage rate calculation and establish a new high-cost mortgage coverage test. Comments on the changes were proposed July 9 along with extensive revisions to the Truth in Lending Act and the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act rules and disclosures. In its July 9 notice, the CFPB requested comment on, among other things, proposed changes to Regulation Z (TILA) to implement amendments...

Leonard Chanin, assistant director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Office of Regulations, where he is essentially the CFPB's chief rule writer, is leaving the bureau to return to private practice with the law firm of Morrison & Foerster, where he once practiced for many years. It's a big loss for the bureau, which prides itself on attracting many qualified and passionate individuals who want to make a difference by opting for a career in public service. Alan Kaplinsky, the practice leader of the...