Nonbank mortgage lenders are starting to complain more loudly about the length of time it takes to get their loan officers approved to do business in New York state, quoting approval times that can take anywhere from 90 to 120 days – and that’s for an application with no “red flags.” A mortgage consultant who works closely with nonbanks estimated that some of his LO clients have waited as long as six months, including both new LOs and bank loan officers who are transferring to a nondepository. Requesting anonymity, he said...

M&T Bank is attempting to reach a settlement with the Department of Justice to resolve an investigation into the bank’s origination of FHA loans and sales of conventional-conforming mortgages to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The bank disclosed the investigation in its quarterly filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, noting similar ongoing investigations at other financial institutions. A bank spokesman declined to comment beyond what was disclosed in the SEC filing but noted that the government agencies are conducting one investigation. On the FHA side, DOJ and the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Office of the Inspector General are investigating...

Meanwhile, Ocwen has been shifting as many of its servicing workers overseas as possible...

The Blackstone Group has finally lifted the 'cone of silence' on its acquisition of mortgage lenders. But will it disclose origination figures?

Will the industry see a flood of nonbanks into the second lien market?

Borrower participants in the CFPB’s eClosing pilot project scored noticeably higher on three key metrics – efficiency, empowerment and understanding – the bureau announced during a public forum on the project last week. The CFPB surveyed consumers about their perceptions of how efficient the overall process was. This included their perceptions about delays, errors in the documents, and the time between important steps. The study found a 17 percent positive difference in scores for borrowers using eClosings compared to borrowers using paper documents. The CFPB also asked consumers how empowered they felt after the process. The survey asked consumers to respond to statements such as, “I felt I had control over the closing process” or “I felt empowered to play an active ...

So-called marketing service agreements between lenders and real estate service providers may be going the way of the dodo bird after two top mortgage lenders decided in recent days to pull the plug on such business arrangement, apparently in the face of scrutiny from the CFPB. Prospect Mortgage, a top-30 ranked lender, was the first to officially deep-six its MSAs, ostensibly as a precautionary measure, the company said. The lender said it feared that it could eventually run afoul of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act. Then Wells Fargo, the nation’s largest mortgage lender, said it too was withdrawing from certain business arrangements where MSAs are involved with its mortgage unit, citing what it called “increasing uncertainty surrounding regulatory oversight ...

The CFPB filed suit in federal district court late last month against NDG Enterprise, characterizing the offshore payday lender as a complex web of commonly controlled companies, and accusing the operation of collecting money consumers did not owe, in violation of the Dodd-Frank Act’s prohibition on unfair, deceptive, and abusive acts and practices. NDG Enterprise originates and collects payday loans over the Internet to consumers in all 50 states, including states such as New York where those loans are void because they violate state usury caps and licensing requirements, according to the bureau.“We are taking action against NDG Enterprise for collecting money it had no right to take from consumers,” said CFPB Director Richard Cordray. “Companies making loans within ...

The CFPB recently brought a $38.4 million enforcement action against Paymap Inc., a Colorado-based payment processing company, and a related action against LoanCare, LLC, a Virginia-based residential mortgage servicer, for allegedly deceiving consumers with advertisements for a mortgage payment program that promised tens of thousands of dollars in interest savings from more frequent mortgage payments. Specifically, the bureau determined that consumers were lured with deceptive promises of savings and misled them about when their payments would be applied. According to the bureau, the two companies together marketed and provided the “Equity Accelerator Program” – an electronic payment system that enables consumers to make automatic mortgage payments via electronic debits from their bank accounts. Consumers were usually charged a $295 enrollment fee ...

The CFPB brought a $1.6 million enforcement action against Residential Credit Solutions, Inc., a national mortgage servicing company for allegedly blocking consumers’ attempts to save their homes from foreclosure. The bureau accused the mortgage servicer of failing to honor modifications for loans transferred from other servicers, of treating consumers as if they were in default when they weren’t, of sending consumers escrow statements falsely claiming they were due a refund, and of forcing consumers to waive their rights in order to get a repayment plan. Residential Credit Solutions, based in Fort Worth, TX, has roughly $95 million in total assets. Since 2009, approximately 75,000 borrowers have had their loans transferred to the company, according to the CFPB. The company specializes ...