Approvals by state regulators and federal agencies of mortgage-related mergers and acquisitions can drag on for a variety of reasons, but lenders and servicers can help speed the process by providing detailed disclosures, according to industry attorneys. Keisha Whitehall Wolfe, counsel at the law firm of Mayer Brown, suggested providing regulators with details about what is changing at a company due to pending M&A activity and what isn’t changing. She suggested providing a ...

New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman this week announced a $500 million settlement with Royal Bank of Scotland to resolve allegations of misconduct in the sale and issuance of non-agency MBS leading up to the 2008 financial crisis.

Democrat Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Kamala Harris of California, Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut recently introduced legislation to allow state attorneys general and other state law enforcers to issue subpoenas during the course of investigations regarding compliance with state law by national banks. The Accountability for Wall Street Executives Act of 2017 would clarify that state attorneys general have authority to conduct visitorial oversight of federally-chartered national banks. It also would revise language in the National Bank Act that the Supreme Court interpreted as limiting the visitorial powers of state law enforcers when addressing compliance with state law by national banks. Additionally, the measure would permit subpoenas for suspected violations of real estate lending laws. “With ...

Democrat state attorneys general from 16 states and the District of Columbia wrote President Trump earlier this month, vowing to ramp up their enforcement efforts if the bureau backs off under Acting Director Mick Mulvaney, and taking issue with his appointment to the position. “As you know, state attorneys general have express statutory authority to enforce federal consumer protection laws, as well as the consumer protection laws of our respective states,” the AGs said. “We will continue to enforce those laws vigorously regardless of changes to CFPB’s leadership or agenda.” They reminded the president that, as attorneys general, they retain broad authority to investigate and prosecute individuals or companies that deceive, scam or otherwise harm consumers. “If incoming CFPB leadership ...

The Conference of State Bank Supervisors recently told the CFPB it is concerned that a rule expected from the bureau could erode the relationship lending model that community banks use with small businesses. “The proposed new data collection requirements will require lenders to compile and report a variety of data points regarding small business applications and loans,” the state regulators said in a recent comment letter to the bureau. “At a minimum, these new data collection requirements will impose additional and disproportionate compliance costs on smaller financial institutions with limited resources and unnecessarily raise the cost of originating small business loans by all lenders.” According to the CSBS, community banks exercise a substantial amount of discretion and expertise in the ...

African-American and Hispanic Borrowers Allegedly Harmed by Provident Will Receive $9 Million in Compensation. Last week, Garden City Group, the settlement administrator for Provident Funding Associates, mailed out checks to African-American and Hispanic borrowers to compensate them for having been unlawfully charged higher interest or broker fees on their mortgages from Provident.... Ocwen Enters Into Agreement with Hawaii to Resolve Regulatory Action. Ocwen Financial settled some outstanding issues with regulatory authorities in Hawaii last week, continuing a streak the nonbank servicer has been on for the last two months or so....

Most of the final amendments the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau made to its mortgage servicing rules kicked in late this week, and the biggest challenge firms will have to contend with is the increased complexity. In an interview this week with Inside Mortgage Finance, Nanci Weissgold, a partner with the Alston & Bird law firm in Washington, DC, highlighted which provisions took effect this week and those coming on line next spring, and what they mean for ...

After the standards for qualified mortgages took effect in 2014, few state-regulated banks stopped offering non-QMs, according to a survey by the Conference of State Bank Supervisors. “Non-QM mortgage lending activity appears relatively stable despite the regulatory tumult,” the state regulators said. According to a CSBS survey of more than 600 banks, the share of respondents that don’t offer non-QMs changed from 23.8 percent in 2014 to 26.5 percent ... [Includes one brief]

Ocwen Financial, the once high-flying non-bank mortgage servicer, has brought to 15 the number of states it has reached settlements with to resolve allegations its compliance with laws and regulations related to its mortgage servicing and lending activities was deficient. Last week, Ocwen settled with New Mexico, Virginia and West Virginia. Late last month, it entered into agreements with 10 other states: Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Maine, Michigan, Mississippi, Montana, Rhode Island, South Carolina and Wisconsin. Nevada and Indiana previously either withdrew or allowed their respective cease-and-desist orders to expire. Per the settlements, Ocwen will not acquire any new residential mortgage servicing rights until April 30, 2018. Also, the nonbank will develop a plan of action and milestones regarding its transition ...

Ocwen Financial has now buried the hatchet with a total of 15 states over alleged deficiencies in its compliance with laws and regulations relating to the company’s servicing and lending activities. Back in April, mortgage and banking regulators from 30 states and the District of Columbia and the state attorneys general of Florida and Massachusetts brought regulatory action against the nonbank servicer. This week, Ocwen settled with New Mexico, Virginia and West Virginia ...