HousingWire, Jan. 23, 2018–Joseph MurinThe speed at which these scams are evolving, and the lengths scammers are willing to go to in order to fool us are at once impressive and terrifying. The latest iteration of wire fraud is one that will take an entire industry to stamp out.
Category: Top National News
This Rare Bear Who Called the Crash Warns Housing Is Too Hot Again
Bloomberg, Jan. 22, 2018–Prashant GopalHouse prices are through the roof and builders’ shares are soaring. When real estate investors get this confident, money manager James Stack gets nervous.
HMDA Exemption Bill Passes the House
National Mortgage Professional, Jan. 22, 2018–Phil HallThe House voted 243-184 to pass the Home Mortgage Disclosure Adjustment Act (HR 2954), which is designed to eliminate compliance regulations imposed on small financial institutions by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
2017 Q4 Mortgage Fraud Risk Rises Slightly
24/7 Wall Street, Jan. 19, 2018–Paul AusickThe national mortgage application fraud risk index rose from 135 in the third quarter of 2017 to 138 in the fourth quarter, according to researchers at CoreLogic.
Ocwen Reaches Mortgage Settlements With Two More States, Inks New Deal with New Residential
HousingWire, Jan. 19, 2018–Ben LaneOcwen Financial is getting closer to putting its mortgage servicing issues with more than half the country’s state regulators in the past.
House Votes to Exempt More Firms from HMDA Rule
National Mortgage News, Jan. 19, 2018–Brian Collins (subscription)The House has voted to exempt community banks, small credit unions and nonbank mortgage lenders from new Home Mortgage Disclosure Act reporting requirements that went to effect Jan. 1.
Fed’s Quarles Draws Regulatory Road Map for Relaxing Bank Rules
Bloomberg, Jan. 19, 2018–Jesse HamiltonFederal Reserve Vice Chairman Randal Quarles, the central bank’s supervision chief, shared a laundry list of ways to make regulation less burdensome for Wall Street–including streamlining capital rules, overhauling post-crisis limits on trading and major changes to how the agency stress-tests banks.
Mulvaney Requests ‘Zero’ Money for CFPB
National Mortgage News, Jan. 18, 2018–Kate Berry (subscription)Acting Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Mick Mulvaney has requested “zero” funding from the Federal Reserve in the second quarter and instead will use reserves to fund the agency.
Consumer Advocate Decries CFPB Request for Input
Los Angeles Times, Jan. 18, 2018–Jim PuzzangheraMick Mulvaney once called the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau a “joke … in a sad, sick kind of way.” Now, as its acting director, he’s in a position to change it.
This Monopoly Is Holding Back the Mortgage Market
Bloomberg, Jan. 18, 2018–EditorialMaintaining FICO’s monopoly would be convenient for regulators, who otherwise will have to manage and monitor an array of models, the editorial says. But competition is more likely to serve the interests of consumers and the economy.