Federal regulators will be looking closely at some lenders’ mortgage pricing policies in areas or ZIP codes that have been classified as “declining markets,” as some question whether such policies amount to illegal discrimination. With housing markets weakening...
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House Democrats last week offered a compromise on cramdown legislation that would require cash-strapped borrowers to explore all possible means, including loan modification, to resolve their financial woes before resorting to bankruptcy. While the proposal...
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Critics complain that mortgage lenders are applying their own overly broad and stringent interpretations of Fannie Mae’s and Freddie Mac’s declining-market policies. SunTrust Mortgage, for example, began implementing its own policy on all loans beginning...
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Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Chairman Sheila Bair argued last week for legislation establishing clear fiduciary duties for mortgage servicers and affirming their authority under existing securitization pacts to engage in loan modification. Testifying...
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Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal last week confirmed that Clayton Holdings, which recently agreed to cooperate with the New York attorney general’s probe of Wall Street firms’ disclosure practices, is also under investigation. Blumenthal acknowledged...
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A Washington-based think tank has proposed using existing government and secondary-market agencies to restructure and re-price existing mortgage pools – a strategy that would allow troubled borrowers to refinance into better loans and spur mortgage servicers...
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Closings for certain subprime home loans made to first-time Massachusetts borrowers will likely be delayed with the recent speedy implementation of new state consumer-counseling and disclosure provisions. On Jan. 31, the Massachusetts Division of...
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Massachusetts has filed a complaint against Merrill Lynch and two former broker agents for allegedly making unauthorized subprime investments that resulted in huge losses for the City of Springfield. The lawsuit alleged that Merrill Lynch violated...
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The Department of Housing and Urban Development has delayed indefinitely the implementation of a risk-based pricing structure designed for the FHASecure Program. The risk-based premium pricing rule was slated to become effective on...
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Florida. State Attorney General Bill McCollum has launched a doubled-barreled offensive against mortgage fraud in the Sunshine State. On the litigation front, the AG’s office sued National Foreclosure Management and several of its affiliates for allegedly...
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House of Representatives: Economic Stimulus. Congress last week enacted a measure to... Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco:Homeownership Preservation Fund. The Federal Housing Finance Board has... Federal Trade Commission: 2007 Enforcement Activities. The Federal Trade Commission last...
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The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. has named Robert Mooney and Kathleen Nagle to key positions within the agency’s Division of... The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has tapped Tim Long to be senior deputy comptroller for bank supervision policy. He will...
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The Bush administration’s much delayed attempt to improve the mortgage lending process may see the light of day in the next few weeks, as the Office of Management and Budget early this month finally cleared a proposed regulation drafted by the Department...
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