Scott Turner, nominee for secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, told senators during his confirmation hearing that Congress holds the purse strings.

Turner looks likely to easily be confirmed to run HUD, based on his reception by the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs.

Initial projections suggest MBS backed by collateral in areas affected by the California wildfires will largely be unscathed.

More than 450 mortgage loans, many of them insured by FHA, were approved based on fabricated documents tied to the guilty plea.

HUD alleged PHH charged convenience fees in violation of FHA requirements.

Rep. Derrick Van Orden, R-WI, said unelected VA officials shouldn’t have the authority to “write a $16 billion or $17 billion check” through creation of a loan-modification program.

The plaintiffs contended that the new standards act as a deterrent to new construction and are in direct conflict with the current energy codes in the majority of jurisdictions around the country.

To this point, FHA hadn’t published its method of identifying servicing defects before, except in draft form.

Trade groups and consumer advocacy groups sent comments to FHA on a draft proposal from late November introducing a permanent loss-mitigation waterfall.

House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Chair Mike Bost, R-IL, said the recent Supreme Court decision to overturn the Chevron doctrine should restore some checks and balances.