Sometimes the most significant thing to come out of an encounter with a newsmaker is not what he says but what he hears. Such was the case last week when CFPB Acting Deputy Director Steven Antonakes addressed attendees at the American Bankers Association’s government relations event in Washington, DC, and took questions afterwards. During the question-and-answer portion after his prepared remarks, one attendee told Antonakes that small banks in Oklahoma are exiting the mortgage business in a number of small communities over fears of potential...
The CFPB has issued two compliance guides for small entities that had to do with its escrow rule under the Truth in Lending Act and the ability-to-repay rule, both issued in January. The bureau said its goal with the guides is to provide an overview of the rules in a plain language and frequently asked question format, “which makes the content more accessible and consumable for a broad array of industry constituents, especially smaller businesses with limited legal and compliance staff.” The consumer agency also emphasized that...
The CFPB has proposed clarifying and technical amendments to its Jan. 10, 2013, final mortgage escrow account rule, which lengthens the time for which a mandatory escrow account established for a higher-priced mortgage loan (HPML) must be maintained. The rule also established an exemption from the escrow requirement for certain lenders that operate predominantly in “rural” or “underserved” areas. The proposed amendments clarify the determination method for the “rural” and “underserved” designations and keep in place certain...
Issuance of non-agency MBS quadrupled in the first quarter, according to new figures compiled by Inside MBS & ABS. Firms selling securities include Ocwen and Nationstar.
It stands to reason that with non-agency jumbo mortgage-backed security issuance reviving to some degree, prices paid in the secondary market for jumbo whole loans are rising. Traders and jumbo consultants who play in the sector tell Inside Nonconforming Markets that prices for quality product are now above par, at 103. As recently as last fall, prices were in the 101 and 102 range, depending on the lender and the underlying collateral. “The market for whole loans is alive and well for ...
California Capital Real Estate Advisers of Pasadena, CA, could quadruple its hard-money production volume this year, according to Mark Mozilo, a principal in the firm. “The rehab business is going crazy here,” Mozilo said. He estimated that 80 percent of CALCAP’s business is in the rehabilitation category. “There’s a lot of fix-it-up and flip it activity,” he said. Although the “quadruple” estimate sounds impressive, the firm’s overall production volume is tiny compared to conventional lenders ...
“The policy mix is very much weighted on the side of not lending, or at least not underwriting anything but a prime loan,” according to Chris Whalen, an executive vice president and managing director at Carrington Investment Services. Whalen and others spoke last week at a panel hosted by the American Enterprise Institute. The industry analysts said actions by federal regulators are limiting issuance of non-agency mortgage-backed securities. Tom Zimmerman, a managing director at UBS, said ...
Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan this week reiterated his agency’s request for additional legislative authority to regulate the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage program by mortgagee letter so that much-needed changes can be implemented immediately. Rather than go through the tedious legislative process of amending HECM legislation to improve the program and reduce HECM losses, expanding HUD’s authority would enable the department to undertake immediate reforms, such as restricting lump sum payments, requiring financial assessments of HECM applicants and requiring borrowers to ...
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