The Multistate Mortgage Committee of the Conference of State Bank Supervisors and the American Association of Residential Mortgage Regulators last week came out with examiner guidelines for use in reviewing non-depository mortgage loan originators’ and creditors’ compliance with the Federal Reserve Board’s mortgage loan originator compensation rules. The guidelines are intended to promote standardization and consistency within the state regulatory community regarding enforcement of the FRB’s rules. The Fed’s final rules for closed-end credit under Regulation Z introduced loan originator compensation restrictions to protect consumers against the unfairness, deception and abuse that can arise with certain loan origination compensation practices. The rules generally prohibit paying loan originators on the basis of loan terms and conditions, dual compensation to originators by consumers and any other person, and “steering” consumers to loans to receive greater compensation.

Ginnie Mae in a conference call with its MBS issuers said it is going to be focusing its attention on new definitions related to data collection, and urged industry participants to provide feedback. Currently, the loan-to-value ratio definition stands as the ratio of the current unpaid principal balance amount to the appraised value, estimated value or purchase price of the property, and that value must include the upfront mortgage insurance premium. Under the new definition, however, the LTV ratio would be based on the original principal balance, said Ginnie officials. This includes any mortgage insurance premium to lower the sale price or...

The Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Office of the Inspector General recommended that an approved FHA lender be ordered to indemnify HUD against any future losses on a number of loans with material underwriting deficiencies. An audit of Ameritrust Mortgage Bankers, based in Lake Success, NY, found that 11 of the 20 FHA-insured mortgages that the lender had originated failed to meet FHA underwriting guidelines and that a quality control plan did not meet agency requirements. Inadequate verification and documentation of borrowers’ income, assets, liabilities and credit histories resulted in actual losses of $183,327 on one loan and potential losses of more than $2.7 million on 10 loans, for total losses of more than $2.9 million, the audit found. In addition, Ameritrust officials allegedly charged ...