Cart

Inside the CFPB

February 11, 2008

View Archived Issues

‘Declining Market’ Pricing Draws Attention

Federal regulators will be looking closely at some lenders’ mortgage pricing policies in areas or ZIP codes that have been classified as “declining markets,” as some question whether such policies amount to illegal discrimination. With housing markets weakening... Read More

Watt Recommends Compromise on Cramdown

House Democrats last week offered a compromise on cramdown legislation that would require cash-strapped borrowers to explore all possible means, including loan modification, to resolve their financial woes before resorting to bankruptcy. While the proposal... Read More

SunTrust’s Declining Market Policy: A Strict Interpretation

Critics complain that mortgage lenders are applying their own overly broad and stringent interpretations of Fannie Mae’s and Freddie Mac’s declining-market policies. SunTrust Mortgage, for example, began implementing its own policy on all loans beginning... Read More

Bair Declares Support for Measure Creating Servicer Fiduciary Duties

Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Chairman Sheila Bair argued last week for legislation establishing clear fiduciary duties for mortgage servicers and affirming their authority under existing securitization pacts to engage in loan modification. Testifying... Read More

Connecticut AG Says Subprime Audit Firm Also on his Radar

Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal last week confirmed that Clayton Holdings, which recently agreed to cooperate with the New York attorney general’s probe of Wall Street firms’ disclosure practices, is also under investigation. Blumenthal acknowledged... Read More

Mechanism Sought for Re-Pricing, Restructuring Bad Home Loans

A Washington-based think tank has proposed using existing government and secondary-market agencies to restructure and re-price existing mortgage pools – a strategy that would allow troubled borrowers to refinance into better loans and spur mortgage servicers... Read More

New MA Laws Threaten to Delay Loans Already in the Pipeline

Closings for certain subprime home loans made to first-time Massachusetts borrowers will likely be delayed with the recent speedy implementation of new state consumer-counseling and disclosure provisions. On Jan. 31, the Massachusetts Division of... Read More

MA Blames Merrill Lynch, Agents For Losses on Subprime CDOs

Massachusetts has filed a complaint against Merrill Lynch and two former broker agents for allegedly making unauthorized subprime investments that resulted in huge losses for the City of Springfield. The lawsuit alleged that Merrill Lynch violated... Read More

HUD Puts Off Implementation of FHA Risk-Based Pricing Rule

The Department of Housing and Urban Development has delayed indefinitely the implementation of a risk-based pricing structure designed for the FHASecure Program. The risk-based premium pricing rule was slated to become effective on... Read More

State Roundup

Florida. State Attorney General Bill McCollum has launched a doubled-barreled offensive against mortgage fraud in the Sunshine State. On the litigation front, the AG’s office sued National Foreclosure Management and several of its affiliates for allegedly... Read More

Federal Roundup

House of Representatives: Economic Stimulus. Congress last week enacted a measure to... Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco:Homeownership Preservation Fund. The Federal Housing Finance Board has... Federal Trade Commission: 2007 Enforcement Activities. The Federal Trade Commission last... Read More

Worth Noting …

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. has named Robert Mooney and Kathleen Nagle to key positions within the agency’s Division of... The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has tapped Tim Long to be senior deputy comptroller for bank supervision policy. He will... Read More

OMB Clears RESPA Rule, Publication Expected Soon

The Bush administration’s much delayed attempt to improve the mortgage lending process may see the light of day in the next few weeks, as the Office of Management and Budget early this month finally cleared a proposed regulation drafted by the Department... Read More

Latest Imf News

More Imf News

Featured Data

More Featured Data

Featured Reports

More Latest Reports

Featured Poll

As homeowner equity continues to build, more and more lenders are launching home equity lending products. Are you thinking of joining this market?

View Results