The Securities and Exchange Commission is considering launching a civil injunctive action against Standard & Poor’s Rating Services, alleging violations of federal securities laws with respect to the company’s ratings for a 2007 collateralized debt obligation. According to a Form 8-K filing this week by McGraw-Hill, the rating service’s parent, the federal agency is looking into S&P’s rating of Delphinus CDO 2007-1, which was to be mostly backed by non-agency residential MBS. “In connection with the contemplated action, the [SEC] staff may recommend that the commission seek civil money penalties, disgorgement of fees and...

The Securities and Exchange Commission this week approved a proposed conflict-of-interest rule that attempts to walk a tightrope between preventing abusive securitization practices and not interfering with legitimate competitive activity in the market. The agency got a lot of feedback on how to implement the Dodd-Frank Act conflict-of-interest provisions, including from the chief sponsors of the provisions in Congress. Senate Democrats Jeffrey Merkley (OR) and Carl Levin (MI) were largely inspired by dealings in which Goldman Sachs allegedly allowed a hedge fund to choose assets for a collateralized debt obligation and then...

Recent proposals by the Securities and Exchange Commission could eliminate or impose more regulatory burden on mortgage real estate investment trusts and complicate securitizations, experts warned. The SEC earlier this month launched a preliminary effort to reconsider the exemption that REITs currently have from the Investment Company Act. Although the agency did not propose any specific changes, the REIT industry and its supporters see the initiative as a potential game-changer for how they do business. The SEC concept release, at first blush, appears to “signal impending regulatory burdens for mortgage REITs and to...

The FHA is urging Congress to restore the authority of community banks to close FHA loans in their own names without having to maintain an FHA lender approval to do so. While it took a regulation by the Department of Housing and Urban Development to take away small banks’ FHA correspondent status, federal law requires lenders to have FHA approval before they can close an FHA-insured loan. Only Congress can make the changes necessary for non-direct endorsement lenders to return to the business of originating and closing FHA loans in their name, according to a former HUD official. Assistant Secretary for Housing and...

FHA lenders that fail to report mortgage record changes for mortgage sales, transfers and termination of mortgage insurance will be referred to the Mortgage Review Board for disciplinary action, including civil fines, the agency warned. In Mortgagee Letter 2011-33, the FHA reminded lenders of their responsibility to reconcile their portfolios and ensure all accounts are properly identified. When the FHA’s records do not match lenders’ records, the latter are required to take corrective action. The Department of Housing and Urban Development will not pay any claims if the name and identification number of the holder or the...

A House Republican legislative proposal to transfer the Department of Agriculture’s rural housing programs to the FHA to eliminate potentially duplicative housing services would be disruptive if not premature, according to officials from both agencies. Testifying during a recent House subcommittee hearing on a GOP discussion draft to reform FHA, Ginnie Mae and the Rural Housing Service of the Department of Agriculture, agency representatives expressed their opposition to the proposal. The Republican discussion draft is under consideration in the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Insurance, Housing and Economic Opportunity to...

The Department of Housing and Urban Development recently called upon lawmakers to restore funding for its housing counseling, a key eligibility requirement for borrowers under the FHA’s Home Equity Conversion Mortgage program. Deborah Holston, HUD acting deputy assistant secretary for single-family housing, told members of the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Insurance, Housing and Community Opportunity that the department has identified ways to streamline and improve the housing counseling program. House appropriators did not restore funding for the program in the draft FY 2012 appropriations bill released...

Granting the chief financial officer additional oversight authority as proposed by House Republicans would be excessive for a relatively small agency such as Ginnie Mae, the agency’s president told lawmakers. Testifying during a recent House subcommittee hearing on legislative proposals on FHA and Ginnie Mae reform, Ginnie Mae President Ted Tozer said that while he understands the committee’s concerns about the agency’s financial condition, he believes the provision is not necessary. Among other things, the proposal would give Ginnie Mae’s CFO a greater hand in overseeing operations to ensure that the agency is not...

With additional rulemaking still expected from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to flesh out some loan originator compensation provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act, state regulators are getting ready to release their own examination guidelines related to mortgage originator compensation for non-depository institutions, based on the Federal Reserve’s rule issued earlier this year. The Conference of State Bank Supervisors and the American Association of Residential Mort-gage Regulators have been working together since May drafting guidelines for implementation of the...

The official watchdog of the Federal Housing Finance Agency says it will monitor and continuously assess the performance of its audits, evaluations and investigations of the Finance Agency over the next couple of years.The FHFA’s Office of Inspector General, which released its new strategic plan for the 2012-2014 fiscal years last week, said it has developed four core strategic performance goals: adding value, operating with integrity, promoting productivity and valuing employees.