The National Labor Relations Board announced earlier this month that it will not seek en banc rehearing in Noel Canning v. NLRB, in which the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia affirmed that President Barack Obamas Jan. 4, 2012, recess appointments of three members to the board were unconstitutional. The board, in consultation with the Department of Justice, intends to file a petition for certiorari with the United States Supreme Court for review of that decision, the NLRB said. The petition is due...
Reps. Bill Huizenga, R-MI, and David Scott, D-GA, both members of the House Financial Services Committee, have reintroduced the Consumer Mortgage Choice Act, H.R.1077, legislation that would ease the definition of points and fees that the CFPB articulated in its ability-to-repay final rule issued in January. The definition is a key factor in determining whether a mortgage is a qualified mortgage, which requires that fees and points not exceed 3 percent. Currently, the definition would make hundreds of thousands of...
FHFA's plan for a single MBS platform that would be managed by a new government entity separate from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac does not mean the agency is contemplating consolidating the two GSEs at this time.
The Mortgage Bankers Association and other industry trade groups are backing bipartisan legislation that would modify the definition of points and fees in the 'ability-to-repay' and QM rules.
A federal judge in Los Angeles last week denied a motion by Bank of Americas Countrywide Financial unit to dismiss securities fraud claims by the Federal Housing Finance Agency on behalf of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac for toxic MBS purchased by the government-sponsored enterprises.The FHFAs complaint alleges that Fannie and Freddie purchased approximately $26.6 billion in residential MBS that Countrywide sold from Aug. 30, 2005, to Jan. 23, 2008. The agency alleges negligent misrepresentations and fraud related to the offerings of Countrywide MBS.
Banks large and small varied their portfolio lending tactics in 2012, with some increasing first-lien originations for portfolio and others allowing runoff and even selling some of their holdings. Overall, bank and thrift first-lien portfolio holdings increased in 2012 compared with the previous year, with originations outpacing prepayments and sales. Banks and thrifts held $1.80 trillion in first-lien mortgages in portfolio at the end of 2012, up 2.3 percent from the end of 2011, according to ... [Includes one data chart]
Interest-only mortgage lending increased significantly in 2012, led by originators willing to portfolio the loans. Lenders expect the originations to remain strong even though the products were singled out in the Dodd-Frank Act and subsequent ability-to-repay rule from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Some $22.94 billion in IOs were originated in 2012 by 15 lenders tracked by Inside Nonconforming Markets. The lenders IO production increased by 19.9 percent compared with 2011 ... [Includes one data chart]