Exams of nonbank servicers in 2014 were “significantly extended” due to consistent delays in receiving information, according to a recent report by the Multi-State Mortgage Committee. The committee handles supervision of nonbank servicers and lenders that operate in more than one state. Some servicers were even found to have tampered with their loan collection logs prior to providing them to examiners. Many of the problems were related to growth at nonbank servicers, according to Rick St. Onge, chairman of the MMC and examination chief of the division of consumer services at Washington State’s Department of Financial Institutions. “Over the year, large bulk loan transfers took place...

Mortgage industry participants are encouraged by a bipartisan bill introduced in the House last week that would provide a temporary license for loan originators transitioning from a bank to a nonbank or between states. H.R. 2121, from Rep. Steve Stivers, R-OH, would change the Secure and Fair Enforcement for Mortgage Licensing Act to allow for a temporary transitional license and give loan originators 120 days to pass testing standards for nonbank LOs when transitioning from a bank or between states. “The SAFE Act inhibits...

Thanks to the recent uptick in interest rates, the value of mortgage servicing rights is on the rise again, which should pave the way for a busy spring and early summer for investment bankers who play in the space. “Prices are holding up pretty well,” said Mark Garland, president of MountainView Servicing Group, Denver. “Prepayment speeds increased in March, but April speeds have come down a bit.” According to Garland, buyers of receivables are paying...

The overall size of the single-family mortgage servicing market isn’t changing much, but the dynamics of the business continued to shift in early 2015, according to a new Inside Mortgage Finance analysis and ranking. The Federal Reserve won’t provide an official reading on single-family mortgage debt outstanding as of the end of the first quarter for another month or so, but the data point to little or no growth in the market during early 2015. Mortgage originations were...[Includes two data charts]

Deephaven's website boasts that it helps “aspiring” homeowners “purchase homes as soon as one day after foreclosure or short sale.”

Such disclosures also should show whether the LO has passed the SAFE Act test.

As the TRID deadline approaches industry anxieties are getting stronger and more specific in nature.

FFIEC Issues Revised Interagency Examination Procedures for Compliance with the TRID. The Task Force on Consumer Compliance of the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council recently put out new interagency examination procedures for the Truth in Lending Act (TILA), as implemented by Regulation Z, and the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA), as implemented by Regulation X. These procedures reflect CFPB amendments to Regulations Z and X published in the Federal Register in December 2013 and February 2015. Most of the changes to the procedures relate to the integrated mortgage disclosure requirements under TILA and RESPA, commonly referred to as the “TRID” requirements. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency Bulletin 2015-27 makes available on the OCC website the revised interagency ...

CFPB, Justice Department Engaged in Fair-Lending Investigations. The Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division was engaged in 10 joint fair- lending probes with the CFPB at the end of 2014 as the result of referrals from the bureau, according to a recently released report to Congress. In five of the probes, the parties were in the midst of pre-suit negotiations, the report indicated. “In addition, seven joint investigations with the CFPB, which were initiated before 2014, are ongoing,” the report continued.The division received a total 18 referrals in 2014: 15 from the CFPB and three from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Of those 15 referrals from the bureau, seven had to do with issues of race/national origin, three with ...

The Community Home Lenders Association recently sent a letter to CFPB Director Richard Cordray, asking the bureau to require consumer disclosures on each mortgage loan that indicate whether the mortgage loan originator working on that loan is licensed. Such disclosures also should show whether the MLO has passed the SAFE Act test, and has completed an independent background check and SAFE Act approved pre-licensing and continuing education courses. CHLA also recommended that consumers be told if their loan originator previously failed (and never passed) the SAFE Act test or has ever been denied a state license because they failed a background check. “The CFPB is carrying out its ‘Know Before You Owe’ initiative, to improve consumer understanding and mortgage disclosures” ...