While building on existing banking rules on appraisals and the Home Valuation Code of Conduct, a new interim final rule released by the Federal Reserve this week features safe-harbor options for lenders and other settlement service providers to make sure they comply...
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Mortgage industry insiders are confident most courts in the country will rule in favor of the Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems and its right to foreclose on defaulted mortgages, based on a host of previous legal decisions. As the foreclosure documentation debacle has spread...
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The roaring controversy over servicers’ foreclosure processing added the burden of title uncertainty to a housing market still struggling to regain its form, but Bank of America has apparently found a way to move foreclosure sales forward. Some title insurers reportedly suspended...
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A new report from the Congressional Oversight Panel set up to monitor the Troubled Asset Relief Program has questioned the performance of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in the execution of their respective roles in the Home Affordable Mortgage Program, as well as the Treasury Department’s oversight thereof. “The panel has long been concerned...
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Transparency and accountability in the mortgage lending process – plus a more aggressive response to the problem of negative equity – are key to pulling the housing market out of its three-year slump, according to FHA Commissioner David Stevens. “If we don’t all embrace...
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Former Countrywide Financial CEO Angelo Mozilo agreed to pay $67.5 million to settle charges from the Securities and Exchange Commission that he engaged in insider trading and misled investors over his firm’s growing exposure to credit risk as the subprime crisis began to spread. Mozilo will pay...
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The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act fell short in its efforts to address the role of federal housing policy in the greater economic crisis, according to industry observers participating in a recent seminar sponsored by the American Enterprise Institute. Dodd-Frank “ignored...
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The largest mortgage lenders in the industry controlled a significantly smaller share of overall production in terms of their direct originations – loans funded through their own retail operations or through mortgage brokers. With the growth of correspondent production in recent years, direct originations accounted...[Includes two data charts]
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