As anxious as mortgage lenders are about the apparent delay in the CFPBs issuance of an ability-to-repay/qualified-mortgage final rule, industry attorneys, trade group experts and consumer advocates unanimously believe that bureau is taking so much time so it can put out the best, most balanced rule as possible. Carrie Hunt, general counsel and vice president of regulatory affairs for the National Association of Federal Credit Unions, said she isnt as concerned about when the rule comes as she is about the quality of it...
In a concession to concerns expressed by industry representatives, the CFPB recently announced it plans to issue a proposal sometime this month to make certain limited changes to its rule on international money transfers, as well as to extend the rules effective date until 90 days after the proposal is finalized.Some regulated entities identified issues that pose practical challenges in implementing the new law, the bureau said in announcing its intention to propose a narrow set of changes to the remittance rule. The proposed changes would improve implementation of the new law while keeping the important new protections for consumers intended by the Dodd‐Frank Act, the CFPB said.
A federal appeals court has agreed to hear Credit Suisses appeal of a lower court ruling which gave the go-ahead for a group of investors in an IndyMac Bank MBS to proceed as a class in its suit against the lender. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit said last week it would hear Credit Suisses appeal of a Manhattan federal judges ruling in June which granted a December 2010 request for class certification to investors as they allege Credit Suisse misled them about the quality of toxic loans underlying a $642 million MBS offering in 2006. The plaintiffs claim...
A federal court in California recently dismissed claims by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. related to non-agency mortgage-backed securities purchased by a bank in 2007 and 2008. According to the ruling, the FDIC should have filed the lawsuit long ago and tolling did not render the claims as timely. FDIC v Countrywide Financial relates to $62.6 million in AAA-rated Countrywide MBS purchased by Strategic Capital Bank in 2007 and 2008. The FDIC was appointed as receiver of the bank on May 22, 2009 ...
Wells Fargo announced that the Securities and Exchange Commission recently completed an investigation of the companys disclosures from mortgage-backed security offering documents and no enforcement action will be taken. Arcus Lending, a mortgage broker and a direct lender in California, recently started offering an 80/10/10 mortgage in an effort to allow borrowers to avoid private mortgage insurance. There is a huge need for such a program and very few lenders ... [Includes two briefs]
Expressing concern about a potential FHA bailout, Sen. Tim Johnson, D-SD, chairman of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, said that he is prepared to work with Republicans on a bipartisan solution to keep the FHA solvent should government measures fail. This week, Johnson called a hearing to know more about the administrative and legislative action plan the Department of Housing and Urban Development has put together to restore the financial health of the FHAs Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund. A recent independent actuarial audit revealed that ...
The mortgage banking industry is urging Congress to reject the FHAs call to eliminate the existing knew or should have known standard in the National Housing Act in connection with an agency proposal to extend indemnification authority to all direct-endorsement lenders. Both proposals are part of legislative and administrative measures sought by the FHA to strengthen its capability to manage risk and protect its Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund. A recent independent actuarial review of the fund found that in FY 2012 the economic value of the FHAs single-family portfolio had dropped to negative $13.5 billion (excluding Home Equity Conversion Mortgage loans) and that ...
The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals ruled earlier this month that a 2010 Federal Housing Finance Agency directive advising Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac against purchasing mortgages laden with certain first-priority lien obligations under the Property Assessed Clean Energy program is not tantamount to a rulemaking that can be challenged in court. The ruling rejected a challenge by Leon County, FL, to uphold its PACE program. The county claimed the FHFA had engaged in rulemaking without the required notice and comment period in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act.The circuit courts opinion by Judge Rosemary Barkett found the Finance Agencys action was consistent with its congressionally defined role as conservator under the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008.
UBS Americas took its challenge to the first of a long line of mortgage-backed securities lawsuits brought by the Federal Housing Finance Agency to a federal appeals court this week, arguing the GSE conservator waited too long before filing charges that the company misled Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in selling toxic non-agency MBS to the two GSEs.
For the third time in as many months, a federal judge has summarily dismissed a securities class action lawsuit against a former Fannie Mae executive. U.S. District Judge Richard Leon threw out the case against Leanne Spencer, Fannies former controller, brought nearly a decade ago by investors hoping to recover damages. 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 CEO Franklin Raines.