The amendment would prohibit the GSEs from channeling cash to the NHTF, which was established under the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008.

The mortgage industry has raised concerns about the HAWK initiative because it carries the specter of new fees.

“I’m tired of having the AMC acting as my pimp," said one appraiser. "The current situation is ruining the appraisal profession and turning appraisers into whores for the AMCs."

Rosner of Graham Fisher & Co. also wants to see the use “stringent methods” to price guarantees separate from the GSE's.

“I understand this is the largest attended ABA compliance conference. You’re welcome,” dead-panned CFPB official Steve Antonakes. “We'll see what we can do this year to boost your numbers a little more next year.”

We’re hearing unconfirmed reports that the Federal Housing Finance Agency may not hire a chief executive and chairman for the common securitization platform project after all…

So what’s stressing the mortgage industry out? Regulations, more regulations – and litigation and the threat thereof.

In its largest settlement under the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act against a company that is not a mortgage insurer, the CFPB ordered Alabama real estate company RealtySouth to pay a $500,000 civil penalty to settle claims it gave inadequate disclosures of its relationship with an affiliated title insurance company. The practices identified by the CFPB’s investigation illegally benefited TitleSouth, an affiliated company owned by the same holding company that owns RealtySouth, according to the bureau, and left consumers unaware of their rights to choose service providers during the home-buying process. “RealtySouth’s preprinted form purchase contracts, which its agents provided to homebuyers preparing to make an offer on a home, either explicitly directed...

Rohit Chopra, the CFPB’s student loan ombudsman, appeared before the Senate Budget Committee last week and indicated the bureau remains intent on holding student loan servicers to account for their treatment of struggling borrowers. “Like many of the improper and unnecessary foreclosures experienced by many homeowners, I am concerned that inadequate servicing has contributed to America’s growing student loan default problem, now topping 7 million Americans in default on over $100 billion in balances,” Chopra said. “To ensure that we do not see a repeat of the breakdowns and chaos in the mortgage servicing market, it will be...

Rep. Maxine Waters, D-CA, the ranking member of the House Financial Services Committee, is among those leading a legislative push by House and Senate Democrats to protect college students from what they see as unfair banking practices involving campus-sponsored financial products. The legislation would extensively rely upon the CFPB to help accomplish lawmakers’ objectives in this regard. The House bill, entitled the Curbing Abusive Marketing Practices with University Student Debit Cards Act (otherwise known as the CAMPUS Debit Cards Act), would end...