The mortgage industry has notched one modest victory on Capitol Hill and continues to hope for more as lawmakers try to wrap up a spending bill for the government’s 2016 fiscal year. The victory is a new process for banks and others to petition the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to designate an area as “rural” or underserved for the purposes of the CFPB’s ability-to-repay rule. More flexible mortgage products, such as balloon loans, are permitted in such markets. The change was included...
Mortgage trade groups submitted a strongly worded brief last week calling for an order by the Federal Communications Commission to be overturned. In June, the FCC issued an omnibus declaratory ruling and order involving the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. The order placed restrictions on auto-dialed calls to cell phones. Violators of the TCPA can be subject to fines of $500 per phone call. A challenge to the FCC’s order led by ACA International is set...
Comments last week by a high-ranking official at the Treasury Department suggested that the Treasury was working toward making servicing standards in the Home Affordable Modification Program permanent. However, a source with knowledge of the Treasury’s efforts suggested that any continuation of HAMP servicing standards would be voluntary. Treasury Counselor Antonio Weiss said the Treasury has recently held several conversations with stakeholders to find common ground to continue the standardization and transparency that HAMP has brought to mortgage servicing. “Chief among these reforms are...
During the worst of the buyback storm in late 2012 and early 2013, the GSEs reported over $18.51 billion of unresolved repurchase requests and as much as $13.22 billion in buybacks during a single quarter.
What year-end slow down? Michigan Mortgage is searching for 14 new employees for ten of its 28 locations. A majority of the jobs are for loan officers and underwriter positions...
Fleig said Fannie’s new policy has prompted some questions as industry participants haven’t seen a draft of the subordination agreement seller/servicers will have to sign.