U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder has been called upon to take the lead in investigating allegations that a number of the largest mortgage lenders in the country may have systematically charged illegal fees to military veterans who refinanced their homes. Sen. Jon Tester, D-MT, a member of the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, sent a letter to Holder recently requesting he get involved in a probe to determine the veracity of the accusations. Earlier this month, a complaint was unsealed in federal court in which two whistleblower types accused the lenders of charging refinance fees that are...

Although Obama administration officials said this week that principal reduction would play a large role in the multistate foreclosure settlement under negotiation, sources suggest that sorting out potential writedowns will be complex and that the settlement will focus on other issues. During a press conference on the revamped Home Affordable Refinance Program this week, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan said principal reductions would be a big part of a settlement that was rumored to be close to completion. “The settlement negotiation is also going to be focused on significantly accelerating the...

The Federal Housing Finance Agency this week announced a series of substantial and eagerly anticipated changes to the Home Affordable Refinance Program for borrowers with underwater Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgages. Among the new HARP enhancements is the elimination of certain risk-based fees for borrowers who refinance into shorter-term mortgages and lower fees for other borrowers. Also removed is the current 125 percent loan-to-value ceiling for fixed rate mortgages backed by the government-sponsored enterprises. Furthermore, HARP 2.0 waives “certain” representation and warranties made by...

The U.S. Senate voted late last week to approve an amendment to a federal spending bill that was offered by Sens. Bob Menendez, D-NJ, and Johnny Isakson, R-GA, to reinstate the higher loan limits for Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Housing Administration that expired on Sept. 30. Those limits dropped to $625,500 in a number of high-cost markets on Oct. 1, and would be restored to $729,750 through December 2013 under the Menendez/Isakson amendment. The National Association of Home Builders was pleased.

Federal Housing Finance Agency. HARP Changes Announced. With a chorus growing inside the Washington, DC, beltway that the Obama administration must do more to help struggling homeowners refinance, the Federal Housing Finance Agency this week announced a number of changes to the Home Affordable Refinance Program in an effort to attract more eligible homeowners who can benefit from refinancing their mortgages. HARP is the only refinance program that enables underwater borrowers to take advantage of low interest rates and other refinancing benefits that would otherwise be beyond their reach in a more normal market environment. This program will continue to be available to borrowers with loans sold to Fannie or Freddie on or before May 31, 2009, with current loan-to-value ratios above 80 percent.

Alabama. Last week, in Reed v. Chase Home Finance LLC, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Alabama rejected a mortgage lender defendant's motion to dismiss or amend a putative class action alleging a violation of the Truth in Lending Act. Plaintiff Reed alleged defendant Chase Home Finance failed to provide the borrower with notice that it was a new creditor as required by TILA Section 1641(g) when it was assigned an ownership interest in plaintiff's mortgage and note. The defendant argued that plaintiff’s position that the note was assigned to defendant, explicitly pled in the complaint, has to be “supported by factual material rendering the assertion plausible.”

A number of colleagues of former Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray made a media and lobbying blitz last week, writing Senate leadership to urge their comrade be confirmed as the director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and holding a conference call with members of the press to highlight their appeal. Writing Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-NV, and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-KY, many members of the National Association of Attorneys General went to bat for one of their own, calling him “both brilliant and balanced.”

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau last week began testing a revised design of its integrated consumer mortgage disclosure prototypes with consumers and industry in the Albuquerque, NM, area, the agency revealed. The latest pair, dubbed “Pinyon” and “Yucca,” represent a fixed‐rate and an adjustable‐rate mortgage, respectively. Both forms include sections on loan terms, projected payments, closing costs, calculating settlement costs, calculating cash to close, comparisons, other considerations and verify receipt. But the Yucca version adds an adjustable interest rate table.

MetLife’s bank division has become the first major lender to say it plans to exit the mortgage business because of increased regulation. MetLife Bank announced it put its Home Loans unit up for sale earlier this month, a move that followed its decision to explore the sale of its depository business. “Today’s uncertain marketplace and regulatory environment require a tremendous amount of resources – both in terms of people and capital – to effectively compete in and profitably grow the forward mortgage business,” the company said. “Doing so would divert these resources away from MetLife’s primary focus on its global insurance and employee benefits businesses.”