The FHA’s request for authority to require specialized subservicing in certain circumstances could be included in an appropriations bill rather than in housing-related legislation, according to Sen. Jack Reed, D-RI, ranking minority member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, HUD and other Related Agencies. Reed raised the possibility during a recent hearing on the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s FY 2016 budget proposal. Among other things, the FHA has been seeking authority from Congress to require, in individual cases, inexperienced lender/servicers to transfer the function to a specialized servicer to better assist borrowers and reduce losses to the Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund. Allowing the FHA to require transfer of servicing will help more distressed homeowners stay in their homes and avoid foreclosure, said ...

Industry participants continue to call for changes to how the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau operates its consumer complaint database. A proposal in December to renew the CFPB’s Consumer Response Intake Form drew criticism from the Mortgage Bankers Association and others. “CFPB and industry data both show that a small fraction of consumer complaints warrant any action beyond an explanation,” Stephen O’Connor, a senior vice president of public policy and industry relations at the MBA, said in a comment letter to the CFPB. The Office of Management and Budget approved...