The mortgage industry cannot and should not wait for Congress to get around to a legislative solution to the government-sponsored enterprises when much of what is necessary can be accomplished administratively, according to experts at a forum hosted by the Urban Institute and CoreLogic. Andrew Davidson, president of Andrew Davidson & Co., noted that among the lessons of this year’s failure to launch a Senate GSE reform bill is that lawmakers find it easier to agree on a set of principles for a mortgage finance system than on the system’s design. With legislation a long shot before the 2016 presidential elections, Davidson said...
Bank of New York Mellon is looking to increase its master servicing activity on residential mortgages, according to officials at the firm that acquired the master servicing unit from JPMorgan Chase in October 2006. However, BNYM is up against stiff competition, including Wells Fargo, a dominant presence in master servicing for non-agency MBS. BNYM is focusing on growth opportunities from managing new funds in traditional residential mortgages as well as new loan types, according to a recent report by Fitch Ratings. In September, Fitch downgraded BNYM’s master servicer rating due to compliance issues, organizational changes and low activity in recent years. The firm has...
Ally Financial recently received subpoenas and document requests from the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Department of Justice over a broad array of lending and securitization activities, the company revealed in a recent Form 10-Q disclosure filed with the SEC. “The subpoenas and document requests from the SEC include information covering a wide range of mortgage-related matters, and the subpoenas received from the DOJ include a broad request for documentation and other information in connection with its investigations of potential fraud and other potential legal violations related to MBS, as well as the origination and/or underwriting of mortgage loans,” the company said. In addition, Ally recently received...
Jaron Van Maanen of the FDIC said the lender should determine if the factor determining the LO’s comp consistently varies with terms over a significant number of transactions...
As mortgage lenders continue to feel their way around the world of unfair, deceptive or abusive acts or practices (UDAAP) as defined by the Dodd-Frank Act and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, there is much they can learn from a close examination of recent enforcement actions. During a webinar this week sponsored by Inside Mortgage Finance, Mercedes Tunstall, a partner with Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman, said CFPB consent orders show that the bureau is watching telemarketing practices very closely. The CFPB is...
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac reported a combined $6.0 billion in net income for the third quarter of 2014, up from $5.1 billion in the previous quarter. The two government-sponsored enterprises will send to the Treasury $6.8 billion as return on the government’s senior preferred stock. That will bring cumulative payments under the GSE conservatorships to $225.5 billion. Fannie and Freddie were given...
PHH Mortgage may avoid taking a big hit in a legal dispute with a homeowner after the company mishandled his mortgage modification. Last week, in Linza v. PHH Mortgage Corp. et al., Yuba County (CA) Superior Court Judge Stephen Berrier threw out most of the jury’s original $16.2 million verdict against the company, including all punitive damages. Instead, the judge said that homeowner Phillip Linza is entitled to only $159,000 in damages. The case stems...
A proposal from the Conference of State Bank Supervisors to increase reporting requirements on state mortgage call reports has been met with strong resistance from a number of lender trade groups. In October, the CSBS proposed collecting additional quarterly information regarding qualified mortgages and servicing, among other data submitted as part of the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and Registry’s mortgage call report. The comment period closed late last week. “We join...
The Treasury Department isn’t doing enough to address issues with servicing transfers in the Home Affordable Modification Program, according to the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program. The SIGTARP warned that complaints about servicing transfers are “escalating,” though that’s from a low base, with only 84 complaints from borrowers this year. “The serious problems raised by homeowners include lost and delayed HAMP applications, trial and permanent modifications not being honored, and the miscalculation or misapplication of monthly payments,” the SIGTARP said in a report released last week. The Treasury monitors...
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