Category: Top National News

Wall Street Journal, June 7, 2016–Borak, Donna
Wall Street banks would be able to break away from the 2010 Dodd-Frank regulatory-overhaul law under a Republican plan-but it would cost them billions of dollars. The GOP plan set to be released by the chairman of the House Financial Services Committee on Tuesday in a speech in New York would provide financial institutions, large and small, an alternative to the existing postcrisis regulatory regime. They would be allowed to opt in to the alternative plan if they can surpass critical thresholds. 

National Mortgage News, June 6, 2016–Passy, Jacob
Ocwen Financial Corp. in West Palm Beach, Fla., will lay off 120 employees as part of a plan to reduce costs.

National Mortgage News, June 6, 2016–Kilgore, Austin
The Charlotte, N.C., bank signed an agreement with the Jacksonville, Fla., mortgage-technology company on June 3 to service first and second mortgages.

HousingWire, June 6, 2016–Lane, Ben
Fannie Mae said Monday that is plans to release a massive collection of data on previously modified loans in its portfolio as part of plan to being securitizing re-performing loans later this year.

Bloomberg, June 6, 2016–Evans, Rachel
Three U.S. banks plan to sell the first commercial mortgage bonds to comply with new rules designed to make securitization markets safer for investors.

National Mortgage News, May 25, 2016–Collins, Brian
The head of the Federal Housing Administration has informed lenders that loans receiving down payment assistance can continue to benefit from government insurance, despite past questions over the legality of certain assistance programs. Pete Mills, senior vice president for the Mortgage Bankers Association, said Golding’s memo to lenders was “a very positive development.”

HousingWire, May 25, 2016–Lane, Ben
A yearlong independent investigation initiated by Wells Fargo, the deals’ master servicer, found no evidence of the litany of accusations made by Gibbs & Bruns on behalf of the investors, Ocwen is off the hook.

Reuters, May 25, 2016–Lambert, Lisa
The U.S. Comptroller of the Currency fined Wells Fargo Bank $70 million on Wednesday over mortgage servicing but said it was ending business restrictions it had placed on the bank.

New Republic, May 25, 2016–Dayen, David
Americans still want to see some measure of justice for the misconduct that precipitated the financial crisis. But Monday’s decision by an appeals court to throw out a $1.27 billion civil penalty against Bank of America will surely generate some despair. So few cases have even been attempted that when a successful one gets reversed, it can raise questions about whether there were any good ones to make in the first place.

Wall Street Journal, May 25, 2016–Eaglesham, Jean; Das, Anupreeta
Proceedings against individual bank employees are rare, and authorities have had difficulty winning cases.