Mortgage Regulation
By Ryan Schuette | 04/24/2012
Parties to the landmark mortgage servicing settlement appointed one man to oversee $25 billion in compliance. In an interview with DS News, Joseph A. Smith, onetime banking commissioner for North Carolina and ex-nominee to head the Federal Housing Finance Agency, lays out the role he envisions playing as he monitors funds for homeowners, states, and the federal government. The settlement monitor speaks with an understated tone about his stewardship of the historic settlement, which 49 state attorneys general and federal officials completed in February.
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By Esther Cho | 04/13/2012
JPMorgan Chase, which surpassed Bank of America as the largest bank in terms of assets in October 2011, reported a net income $5.4 billion, with earnings per share at $1.31. The reported net income and earnings per share for the 2011 first quarter was $5.6 billion and $1.28, respectively. The bank saw a significant boost with mortgage production-related revenue, which was reported at $1.6 billion, an increase of $722 million, or 80 percent, from the year before. At $59.9 billion, mortgage loan application volumes increased 33 percent compared to the prior year, and 14 percent from the previous quarter, mostly due to heavy refinancing activity.
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By Esther Cho | 04/09/2012
Mortgages are becoming more and more of a litigious matter, with the number of mortgage-related cases reaching an all-time high since being tracked in 2007, according to Mortgage Daily's 2011 fourth quarter Mortgage Litigation Index. At 244, the number of cases rose from 218 in the 2011 third quarter and from 151 over the same period a year earlier. Foreclosure-related litigation cases reached 99 and accounted for 40 percent of all cases. One attorney attributes the increase to a high level of awareness among borrowers that foreclosure-related issues can be litigated, sometimes successfully.
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By Carrie Bay | 02/13/2012
As many as 10 million homeowners are at risk of default, according to Richard Cordray, director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). In an op-ed piece, Cordray recounts the type of behavior and practices that put so many Americans in danger of losing their homes - it's what he describes as "the wild West of lending." Enter the CFPB. While the agency is charged with overseeing all consumer-facing financial products and services, Cordray says its greatest focus is on the mortgage market, and servicing in particular.
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By Esther Cho | 02/09/2012
While the $25 billion robo-signing settlement concludes 16 months of intense negotiations, questions still remain on how this will impact borrowers and the larger economy. Capital Economics stated that while it is good that the settlement has been finalized and will offer principal reductions and refinancing schemes to borrowers, the bigger picture is that the settlement is not large enough to dramatically alter the outlook for the housing market or the wider economy.
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By Carrie Bay | 02/08/2012
Analysts at Fitch Ratings expect to see a sharp rise in the cost to service mortgage loans. They describe the housing recovery in the U.S. as "unhurried" and as a result, they say lenders have been forced to shoulder higher foreclosure expenses. Fitch says increased foreclosure costs compounded by credit, compliance, regulatory, and other real-estate owned expenses are beginning to have a profound effect on the industry. The agency estimates the cost of servicing nonperforming loans is likely to double from pre-crisis levels.
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By Carrie Bay | 01/27/2012
The default servicing industry is in a state of transition, according to Larry B. Litton Jr., CEO of Selene Finance, and it's the smaller, more nimble servicing operations that will have the advantage in reacting quickly to the new rules and the changes that are in store. Litton says many of the bigger servicing shops are still set up to do what he considers commoditized types of processes and aren't able to adapt quickly to the regulatory changes coming down the line, while smaller special servicers are already built for single point of contact and to be highly responsive to consumers.
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By Carrie Bay | 01/12/2012
IndiSoft, a technology development firm that focuses on systems for the default services industry, recently announced that Earl Devaney has joined its advisory board. Devaney recently retired from the federal government after 41 years, most recently as President Obama's choice to oversee the distribution of the $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 stimulus plan.
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By Carrie Bay | 01/09/2012
Richard Cordray, director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has named Raj Date the agency's first deputy director. Date has been leading the day-to-day operations of the bureau since it launched in July. Cordray also named Kent Markus to the position of assistant director of the Office of Enforcement to fill the position Cordray vacated upon his director appointment.
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By Carrie Bay | 01/05/2012
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) now has the authority to oversee nonbank businesses, including mortgage servicers that are not part of a depository institution and companies providing loan modification and foreclosure relief services. This expanded authority came with the appointment of an agency director on Wednesday, and the bureau wasted no time. That very same day, the CFPB announced the official launch of its nonbank supervisory program.
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