The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency will examine banks’ foreclosure and loss mitigation procedures over the next several weeks to confirm compliance and that banks have remedied any identified foreclosure-related issues. At the same time the OCC bank supervision staff is conducting these examinations, the agency will also look into...
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With the interim final rule on appraiser independence due to come out this week, industry groups are urging the Federal Reserve Board to await the completion of two major studies of appraisal fees that may provide a basis for rulemaking on “reasonable and customary” appraisal fees. “The fact that a rule could inadvertently curtail credit makes...
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The need for mortgage servicers to perform a more thorough review of foreclosure paperwork and procedures will mean further foreclosure delays and higher investor losses – and those are the more predictable results of the latest mishap in the financial services industry. Less predictable are...
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Mortgage settlement service providers with affiliated business arrangements will face new compliance challenges under the new regulatory regime of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, according to compliance experts. Title X and Title XIV of the new law will likely lead to...
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The Department of Housing and Urban Development has issued guidance exempting certain housing assistance loan programs for low- and middle-income borrowers from the requirement to provide a good faith estimate and a HUD-1 settlement statement. HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan said he is granting the exemption for...
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The Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Office of the Inspector General recommended civil fines of more than $4.4 million against three FHA lenders for losses incurred on 25 mortgage loans due to bad underwriting. The adverse findings and recommendations against the lenders – First Tennessee Bank, Pine State Mortgage Corp. and...
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New rules laying out broad, complex requirements for conducting mortgage servicing in New York have created a level of detail that may challenge servicers in their compliance efforts, according to industry attorneys. The new rules became effective on an emergency basis Oct. 1 and address topics from...
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California. On Oct. 1, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed legislation that would have extended state deficiency judgment law to refinance mortgages. The current law currently prevents lenders from pursuing deficiency judgments against purchase money mortgages. Sweeping refis into the scope of the existing law might encourage...
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Department of Housing and Urban Development Lender Indemnification. On Oct. 8, HUD proposed new rules to strengthen its authority to force lenders to indemnify the agency for poorly underwritten mortgages. The proposal wraps up a series of tightening measures aimed at restoring...
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The Accounting Standards Board has issued an exposure draft to increase transparency in financial reporting about troubled debt restructurings. The exposure draft would provide guidance to lenders in determining whether a modification of the terms of a receivable meets the criteria for a trouble debt restructuring, or TDR, in order to...
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