Industry attempts to restructure troubled securitized subprime mortgages and help borrowers keep their houses will not run afoul of current accounting standards, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. The MBA reported its conclusions in a recent...
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While the mortgage industry should be pleased with the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision raising the bar for statutory and punitive damages under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, it should not let its guard down on FCRA issues. Rather, mortgage lenders and brokers...
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The U.S. securitization industry has issued new guidelines that aim for broader use of loan modification – when it is in the interest of investors. Issued by the American Securitization Forum last week, the guidelines encourage servicers to initiate early contact...
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Federal thrift and banking agencies are planning to propose disclosure samples for subprime hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages, following the recent release of similar samples for nontraditional mortgage products. The agencies – Office of Thrift Supervision...
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Assignee liability should not be imposed on secondary market investors and participants, but if this happens it should be done through a carefully crafted uniform national standard, the securitization industry argues. In a policy paper issued last week...
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State attorneys general in Ohio and New York are taking action to stem inflated property appraisals, even as pressure to come up with rosier market scenarios increase. In Ohio, Attorney General Marc Dann has filed multiple lawsuits against seven mortgage brokers...
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Federal regulatory agencies should reconsider their flawed proposal for model privacy disclosures and to issue another proposal for comment, according to two financial services trade groups. In separate letters to regulators, the Consumer Mortgage Coalition...
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The Department of Housing and Urban Development has filed suit in California federal court against a large hazard reporting company and four real-estate brokerages for allegedly creating sham “joint ventures” to funnel illegal payments for business referrals and...
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A Delaware thrift last week signed a supervisory agreement with the Office of Thrift Supervision to provide affordable loans and to reimburse its borrowers for excessive fees. The agreement stemmed from the alleged failure of AIG Federal Savings Bank to manage and...
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Colorado. Gov. Bill Ritter has signed a package of bills into law aimed at stemming mortgage fraud and the high foreclosure rate in his state. Here is a summary of the bills: H.B. 1322, the Mortgage Fraud Prevention Act, requires mortgage...
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Federal Reserve Board: HOEPA Hearing. The Fed will conduct a public hearing on June 14 under the Home Ownership and Equity Protection Act to see how it might use its rulemaking authority to curb predatory and abusive lending practices, particularly in the...
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The House Financial Services Committee will... Since 1988, the Federal Reserve has... Federal banking regulators have published... Mortgage fraud rose 30 percent between... A recent Federal Reserve survey of... The American Enterprise Institute will... The American Conference Institute is... The National Association of Mortgage Brokers... The California Mortgage Bankers Association is...
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The Mortgage Bankers Association called for quick passage of legislation that would make mortgage insurance premiums and guaranty fees under federal housing programs permanently tax deductible. The MBA urged the House ways and Means Committee and the Senate...
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