The Department of Housing and Urban Development has delayed the implementation of a new requirement to assess the financial condition of borrowers seeking a Home Equity Conversion Mortgage loan, which was to take effect on Jan. 13. HUD’s decision to delay responds to an industry concern that the initial effective date does not give lenders sufficient time to customize appropriate software, hire and train new underwriters and complete other critical implementation tasks. It would take at least three months to do all these things, lenders said.

The American Civil Liberties Union and a Brooklyn-based advocacy group, the Center for Popular Democracy, have filed a Freedom of Information Act claim against the Federal Housing Finance Agency demanding that the regulator produce all agency records “pertaining to the use of eminent domain to purchase mortgages.” Filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, the lawsuit seeks information regarding the FHFA’s relationship with big banks and mortgage-backed securities investors and whether such interests influenced the agency’s opposition. The suit was filed earlier this month on behalf of community housing advocates in California, New Jersey and New York.

A nearly decade-long class-action fraud lawsuit on behalf of Fannie Mae investors and the GSE’s accountant KPMG LLP has been put to rest following the approval of a federal court judge earlier this month. In papers filed with the U.S. District Court of the District of Columbia, Judge Richard Leon said he found the $153 million settlement and plan for distributing it among the more than one million class members was “fair, reasonable and adequate.” Two Ohio pension funds – the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System and the State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio – filed suit in 2004 related to a $6.3 billion overstatement of earnings against Fannie and three former GSE executives, including then-CEO Franklin Raines.

PNC Financial Services will pay Freddie Mac $89 million to put to bed all buyback liabilities on home loans sold to the GSE in the years leading up to the mortgage-market meltdown, the lender announced earlier this month. The settlement resolves certain PNC repurchase obligations for both existing and future claims for approximately 900,000 loans that were sold to Freddie between 2000 and 2008. The $89 million payout, less credits of $8 million, will also be used to compensate Freddie for any losses that the GSE incurred in the past or any other losses that may result in the future, said PNC.

In between the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s announcement of a new guaranty fee increase and the Senate’s confirmation of a new FHFA director, a Manhattan federal judge last week quietly issued a ruling that permits the agency to proceed with its residential mortgage-backed securites lawsuits. In the summer of 2011, the FHFA filed suit against 18 big banks in connection with flawed mortgage securities Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac purchased between 2005 and 2007. A number of defendants in the case, including a host of individuals, argued in an appeal filed in August that due to a 2005 change in Rule 430B of the Securities Act of 1933, they should not be held liable in the case.

The American Civil Liberties Union and the Center for Popular Democracy have filed a lawsuit under the Freedom of Information Act to compel the Federal Housing Finance Agency to provide details about its efforts to block municipalities from using eminent domain to prevent foreclosures. Filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, the lawsuit seeks information regarding the FHFA’s relationship with big banks and MBS investors and whether such interests influenced the agency’s opposition. The suit was filed on behalf of community housing advocates in California, New Jersey and New York. Certain municipalities with large African-American and Latino populations, including Richmond, CA, and Irvington, NJ, are considering...

Fraud among jumbo borrowers is increasing, particularly regarding employment and income, according to industry analysts who say lenders should pay particular attention to fraud on loan characteristics that factor into qualified mortgage requirements and new ability-to-repay standards. “In high-cost markets, people tend to be willing to fudge a little bit on their income,” said Ann Fulmer, a vice president of industry affairs at Interthinx, during a webinar hosted this week by the provider of fraud-mitigation services ...

With one week left on Congress’ calendar year, Senate approval of S. 1376, the FHA Solvency Act of 2013, before the end of 2013 is becoming more unlikely, according to lobbyists. The bill is stalled and is unlikely to be brought to the floor any time soon. If the housing sector continues to improve, the government-sponsored enterprises continue to generate profit and the FHA’s newer books of business continue to perform well, passing GSE or FHA reform legislation next year would be an uphill battle, lobbyists said. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that implementing S. 1376 would result in ...

The Department of Housing and Urban Development has released a final rule defining a “qualified mortgage” that is insured by the FHA. The final rule will be effective on Jan. 10, 2014. The HUD rule builds off the QM/Ability-to-Repay rule, which the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau finalized earlier this year. The Dodd-Frank Act requires HUD to propose a QM definition that is aligned with the ability-to-repay criteria set out in the Truth in Lending Act and with the agency’s mission to ...

A Manhattan federal judge last week approved a proposed settlement by bankrupt Residential Capital with the Federal Housing Finance Agency to resolve billions of dollars in claims tied to toxic MBS sold to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac during the run-up to the financial crisis. Judge Martin Glenn of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York approved the agreement, which is tied to a settlement the FHFA reached with Ally Financial, ResCap’s former parent, in late October. Under the agreement, the FHFA will receive...