House Republicans have found – or been given – yet another axe to grind against the CFPB: the confidentiality or downright secrecy associated with the bureau’s advisory council meetings. Currently, the CFPB has four such groups: the Community Bank Advisory Council, the Credit Union Advisory Council, the Academic Research Council and the Consumer Advisory Board. The groups are made up of industry representatives, consumer activists and academics.

Of the more than 30,000 consumers complaints the CFPB has received about debt collection, more than one third said the debt is not owed, and most of those said the debt was never theirs to begin with, the bureau said in a recent report. Among other top gripes, nearly a quarter of the complaints received by the bureau were about debt collectors using inappropriate communication tactics. More than half of those complaints cited frequent or repeated calls from a collector and often the collector had called the wrong phone number. “Consumers also complain about debt collectors calling their places of employment or collectors using obscene, profane or abusive language,” the CFPB said.

The CFPB issued its first Freedom of Information Act report last week, finding that the bureau’s average response time for all simple “processed perfected requests” was 8.36 days with virtually no backlog.The average response time for complex requests was 31 days. The bureau defines a “processed perfected request” as “a request for records which reasonably describes such records and is made in accordance with published rules stating the time, place, fees (if any) and procedures to be followed,” and for which the bureau has taken final action in every respect.

With just one accord this week, the Federal Housing Finance Agency more than doubled the amount it has recovered on behalf of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from issuers and underwriters that sold subprime and Alt A MBS to the government-sponsored enterprises. Bank of America agreed to a $9.3 billion settlement that covers its own dealings as well as those of Countrywide Financial and Merrill Lynch, which it acquired in 2008. The agreement covers some $57 billion of MBS issued or underwritten by these firms. BofA did not admit...[Includes one data chart]

The Association of American Retired Persons hit the Department of Housing and Urban Development again with another class-action lawsuit for allegedly failing to protect four surviving spouses of Home Equity Conversion Mortgage borrowers against foreclosure and eviction.The complaint was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, where last September a federal judge found HUD in violation of federal law in a similar case. The court remanded the case to HUD to determine the appropriate remedy for the problem. The AARP Foundation Litigation and the law firm of Mehri & Skalet, the same entities that successfully litigated last year’s reverse mortgage case, represented the plaintiffs, none of them younger than 65 years of age. The suit challenges HUD’s promulgation of HECM regulations, which allegedly is ...

Thirty-three FHA lenders were sanctioned and 32 others lost their FHA approval between October and December 2013 because of actions taken by the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Mortgagee Review Board. The board also imposed $516,500 in civil money penalties and entered into one settlement agreement to bring an unidentified lender into compliance. During the three-month period, one lender entered into an indemnification agreement with the MRB over one FHA-insured single-family loan. FHA lenders were subject to MRB disciplinary actions for various reasons, including failing to establish and implement a servicing quality control plan and failing to perform loss mitigation as required by the agency. Actions were also taken against lenders for failing to conduct monthly reviews of delinquent loans to determine the type of loss mitigation needed, as well as for failing to repay HUD losses in connection with indemnification agreements. Noncompliance with HUD’s annual recertification requirements also resulted in ...

A mortgagee that no longer wishes to participate in FHA programs must submit a letter requesting voluntary withdrawal of its FHA approval, signed by a senior executive of the company, according to guidance published in the March 2014 issue of FHA’s Lender Insight. Lenders may not simply let their FHA approval expire by failing to complete FHA’s required annual recertification process, the guidance warned. “Failing to recertify will result in a referral to the Mortgagee Review Board for administrative action,” it said. The board’s withdrawal of a lender’s FHA approval could have an adverse impact on the lender should it reapply for FHA approval in the future. A lender requesting voluntary withdrawal of FHA approval is subject to a review before the agency signs off on the request. The request would be denied if the lender has an MRB administrative action pending against it or if it is behind on its mortgage insurance premium payments. A lender whose FHA approval has been withdrawn may ...

Old Republic Cancels Recapitalization Plan for its Mortgage Guaranty Subsidiaries. Old Republic International Corp. has withdrawn plans to secure capital market funding for its beleaguered consumer credit indemnity and mortgage guaranty subsidiaries for lack of investor interest. Both business segments are housed within the Republic Financial Indemnity Group and have been in a run-off mode since 2008 and 2011, respectively. ORI Chairman/CEO Al Zucaro said holding company funds would be used to shore up the regulatory capital of the mortgage guaranty subsidiaries. The completion of the recapitalization plan hinged on regulatory approvals in North Carolina, Florida and Vermont, as well as from the government-sponsored enterprises and the Federal Housing Finance Agency. ORI said that with all the complications, it could not be certain of getting the necessary approvals. A primary investor concern is that new capital would be used to pay for RMIC’s legacy problems, and investors want their money to ...

The agreement among Republicans, Democrats and the White House for the need to act and the heightened urgency to pass legislation before a potential shift in power after the mid-term elections could determine the outlook for housing reform legislation in 2014, according to analysts. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac reform efforts in Congress and investor lawsuits are helping shape the housing debate this year, and the recently issued Johnson-Crapo draft legislation is the bill to watch going forward, said Bloomberg Industries analysts this week. The profitability of the two government-sponsored enterprises in 2013 not only fueled...

The total amount of principal reduction and refinancing provided by banks for consumer relief under the landmark $25 billion national servicing agreement far exceeded what was required in the agreement, according to final credit reports filed by settlement monitor Joseph Smith. Filed with the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia this week, the reports confirmed that Wells Fargo, Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, CitiBank and Ally have met their consumer relief and restructuring obligations under the settlement. In total, the five companies provided...