The strength of the non-agency market has become a major point of concern as a diverse coalition of market participants lobbies for changes to a proposed rule for mandatory risk retention. The impact on the non-agency market is second only to the group’s concerns about downpayment requirements in the qualified residential mortgage debate. “The proposed narrow QRM rule discourages...
Following signs that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau may been far more involved in the 50-state servicer settlement discussions than it has publicly let on, key Republican House committee chairmen have called upon Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner to provide documents and records related to the CFPB’s role in the negotiations, un-redacted, by no later than July 5. In their request, the lawmakers cited a copy of a CFPB settlement presentation that recommended goals, provided…
The Supreme Court of the United States has accepted First American Financial Corp. v. Edwards, in which the justices will consider whether an individual who has not suffered any actual damages from violations of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act has legal standing to sue in federal court. SCOTUS plans to consider two questions, the first of which is “whether RESPA requires the plaintiff in a private damages action to allege that an unlawful…
Legislation gaining momentum in Congress to create a covered bond framework still lacks the endorsement of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Analysts note that the FDIC’s concerns need to be addressed for there to be any hope of establishing a non-agency market via covered bonds. Last week, the House Financial Services Committee approved H.R. 940, the U.S. Covered Bond Act of 2011, by a 44-7 bipartisan vote. However, the committee rejected...
Trade groups representing home builders and real estate agents are warning Congress that a decrease in conforming loan limits will result in higher interest rates for borrowers and other less favorable loan terms. However, the housing advocates face a tough battle in extending temporarily elevated conforming loan limits. Without action from Congress, the high-cost loan limit for agency mortgages and the FHA will fall from $729,750 to $625,500 beginning Oct. 1. Some 5.25 million owner-occupied homes will no longer qualify...
Staff at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau can proceed with their integrated mortgage disclosure project, “know before you owe,” without having a confirmed director in place, and they might even be able to release a proposed rule before a chief is confirmed by the Senate. But any final rule issuance on the bureau’s part would likely prompt a legal challenge from somewhere within the mortgage finance industry, according to some leading industry attorneys. …
The House Appropriations Committee, in a politically charged move, has approved a $19.9 billion spending bill that will affect regulators and the implementation of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. Among the visible implications of the budget package, which is almost $2 billion (9 percent) below last year’s funding level and almost $6 billion below President Obama’s FY2012 request – is a double move on the controversial Consumer Financial Protection Bureau…
All banks under the supervision of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency that engage in mortgage servicing must review their practices and make sure they are complying with foreclosure laws, conducting foreclosures in a safe and sound manner, and establishing responsible business practices that provide accountability and appropriate treatment of borrowers, the OCC said. …
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Integrated Mortgage Disclosure Project. The CFPB has issued a second set of mortgage disclosure prototypes for public review and comment, with a particular emphasis on borrower payments or fees necessary to close a mortgage. In the first set, the back page was identical on both versions, but the “shopping sheet” front page was different. In the second set, the first page is the same on both versions, with substantial differences…
The Secure and Fair Enforcement for Mortgage Licensing Act of 2008 covers loan originators working for entities that originate FHA or VA mortgage loans, according to a final rule issued by the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Under the long-anticipated rule on state compliance with the SAFE Act, HUD clarified that even though the FHA and VA programs were created by federal statute and governed by federal regulations, the loans they insure or guarantee are originated for profit. Since FHA and VA loans are originated in the “commercial context,” the loan originators (LOs) are generally subject to the requirements of...
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