Mnuchin Wants GSE Reform in Next Congress. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin is worried about Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac expanding their already large role in the mortgage market and said he’s not against taking administrative action absent a legislative solution for reforming the mortgage giants.During the secretary’s annual testimony to the House Financial Services Committee late last week, Mnuchin reiterated his position in wanting lawmakers to reform the GSEs and said he expects that to happen in the next Congress. “This is something that I am determined, in the next Congress, should be a major focus of ours, hopefully on...

A final rule from the Federal Reserve regarding single-counterparty credit limits looks a lot better to the securitization industry than the proposed rule. Industry participants had warned that the rule proposed in March 2016 was overly broad, complex and unworkable.

Originations of higher-priced conventional mortgages increased by 20.1 percent on an annual basis to $36.01 billion in 2017, according to a new ranking and analysis by Inside Nonconforming Markets of data from the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act. Higher-priced mortgages are loans that have an annual percentage rate higher than a threshold for the “average prime offer rate” on a comparable mortgage. First-lien mortgages with an APR ... [Includes two data charts]

A provision involving community banks and qualified mortgages in recently enacted regulatory relief legislation could prompt community banks and nonbanks to loosen underwriting standards for non-agency mortgages, according to Moody’s Investors Service. Banks with less than $10.0 billion in assets can receive QM treatment for certain loans that would otherwise be non-QMs if the banks hold the mortgages in portfolio acording to the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief and ...

Fair lending in the mortgage servicing context has become an area of regulatory interest especially when dealing with disabled borrowers and those with limited English proficiency, compliance professionals said at the recent American Bankers Association’s regulatory compliance conference in Nashville.

The CFPB recently dropped its RESPA-related investigation of Zillow, deciding not to bring enforcement charges against the online real estate database firm, according to a new public filing. At issue was Zillow’s co-marketing program, which allows real estate agents and lenders to advertise together on the firm’s website. As part of the launch, Zillow had boasted that its “premier agents” can invite lenders to share marketing costs. “Lenders get featured next to the agents on Zillow ...

The CFPB asked Citibank to pay $335 million to credit card customers who did not receive legally mandated interest rate reductions as part of a recent legal settlement, but the agency – interestingly – did not fine the bank for its misconduct. The bureau said it did not assess civil money penalties based on the fact that “Citibank self-identified and self-reported the violations to the bureau, and self-initiated remediation on affected consumers.” It’s not the first time the ...

The CFPB announced it will release guidance later this summer to provide exemptions to smaller financial institutions under the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act. The regulatory relief comes from the Dodd-Frank reform act – the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act – signed into law in May. The new law exempts depository institutions and credit unions that originated fewer than 500 closed-end mortgage loans or 500 open-end lines of ...

Industry groups are calling on the CFPB to provide clarification of fair lending standards under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act as it applies to disparate impact, according to recently filed comment letters on inherited regulations. Among other things, lenders are asking the CFPB to review its use of disparate impact based on a Supreme Court of the United States’ decision in Inclusive Communities. The case established a framework for the application of disparate impact ...