Justice Department lawyers want to extract the largest possible penalty from Bank of America after a Charlotte, NC, jury found in October that its Countrywide Financial Corp. division committed fraud when it sold toxic mortgages to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in the years leading up to the 2008 financial crisis, according to court papers filed earlier this month.In its successful civil suit against BofA, the DOJ and the Securities and Exchange Commission estimated that the two GSEs lost some $850 million from thousands of loans acquired through CFC’s “Hustle” program between August 2007 and May 2008. BofA acquired Countrywide in 2008 and is liable for the fraud.

Vantage Production LLC is trying to build compliance, suitability and accountability into the mortgage sales process – things that can help lenders comply with the daunting qualified-mortgage rule as they streamline their sales and marketing processes. The vendor says its Vantage Integrated Production (VIP), an enterprise-level customer-relationship management platform, enhances loan-officer productivity and increases sales while providing corporate control of compliance. This software-as-a-service ...

Mortgage industry officials note that the size and complexity of the disclosure rules and other regulations taking effect in January will cause huge operational and system challenges.

Mortgage lenders will have until Aug. 1, 2015, to implement the new integrated mortgage-disclosure forms and related rule issued by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau this week. The new forms will replace the existing federal disclosures under the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act and the Truth in Lending Act. Bureau officials hope they will help consumers better understand their options, choose the deal that’s best for them, and avoid costly surprises at closing. The new, three-page loan estimate form will be provided...

Private-equity firms such as Pershing Square Capital Management and Fairholme Funds are gobbling up the common and preferred shares of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, a trend that may continue as long as the two stay profitable and Congress dithers with how to end their conservatorships. “There’s some value there,” said Brian Harris, a senior analyst with Moody’s Investors Service. “The hedge funds believe the two will continue to earn money.” Industry observers who closely follow the government-sponsored enterprises predict...

Increasing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac guaranty fees, as well as “incrementally” reducing the government-sponsored enterprises’ loan limits throughout the next decade, would save the government approximately $20 billion, according to the Congressional Budget Office. In a report published last week, the CBO projected the budgetary savings that would occur under two proposals. “By CBO’s projections under current law, the mortgage guaranties that the GSEs issue from 2015 through 2023 will cost the federal government $22 billion,” noted the report. “That estimate reflects the subsidies inherent in the guaranties at the time they are made.” Under one scenario, the average GSE guaranty fee would increase...

Jumbo mortgages have a higher risk of fraud than conforming mortgages, according to a new report from Interthinx.

Republicans on Capitol Hill might be laying the groundwork for legislation that could scale back the application of the disparate impact theory of legal liability in mortgage lending. Currently, there is no active legislation to that effect pending in the U.S. House of Representatives or the Senate, and industry lobbyists said there is no such interest underfoot. But just the fact that the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations held a hearing this week on disparate impact in general had some Democrat supporters of the theory a bit anxious. “My hope is...

The CFPB has come up with a new three-page loan estimate form ("Ficus") that must be given to borrowers within three business days after they submit a loan application.

Analysts commenting on the settlement note that while JPM did not admit any violations of law, it acknowledged in a “statement of facts” section that employees did not comply with company underwriting guidelines and representations.