National Mortgage News, Dec. 11, 2015–Peters, Andy
Securitizations that involve commercial mortgages are increasingly dropping loans from their pools before the final transactions close, according to Fitch Ratings.
Category: Top National News
Morgan Stanley to Pay $225 Million Settlement Over Mortgage Securities
New York Times, Dec. 10, 2015–Moyer, Liz
Morgan Stanley will pay $225 million to settle lawsuits related to its sale of faulty mortgage-backed securities to five now-defunct corporate credit unions.
Refinancing, Refined: Why This Company Is the ‘TurboTax for Mortgages’
Entrepreneur, Dec. 10, 2015–Moran, Gwen
After 11 years in the mortgage business, Jason van den Brand couldn’t believe that a process so convoluted hadn’t been addressed with new technology. So he left his position at a brokerage firm and started Lenda. Dubbed “TurboTax for mortgages,” San Francisco-based Lenda (originally called GoRefi) lets borrowers apply for and complete a mortgage refi online.
Moody’s: TRID Violations Found in 90% of Recently Reviewed Mortgages
HousingWire, Dec. 10, 2015–Lane, Ben
Despite Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Richard Cordray’s recent proclamation that the October implementation of the CFPB’s new TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosures rule was akin to the unfounded panic that surrounded Y2K, a new report from Moody’s Investors Service finds that TRID compliance violations are running rampant among newly originated loans.
Not Every Door is a Revolving Door: Housing Finance, GSE Reform and the NYT
On the Economy, Dec. 9, 2015–Bernstein, Jared
As a financial-markets-muckraker for the New York Times, Gretchen Morgenson provides an important and valuable service, especially when you consider the depth of muck in that sector in recent years. But there can be a fine line between raking muck and pointing fingers at legitimate activity.
Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac Roll Mortgage Modification Interest Rate Back to 4%
HousingWire, Dec. 9, 2015
Last month, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac dropped the benchmark interest rate for the standard mortgage modification programs below 4% for the first time since the programs began in Jan. 2012. But that’s looking like a singular occurrence.
Fannie Updates Servicing Tool for Loan Mods
National Mortgage News, Dec. 8, 2015–Collins, Brian
Fannie Mae has updated its underwriter servicing tool to make it easier for servicers to determine the eligibility of distressed homeowners for a loan modification.
Cheat Sheet: What to Expect from Regulators in 2016
National Mortgage News, Dec. 14, 2015–Collins, Brian
Mortgage lenders and servicers weary from a raft of regulatory changes in recent years may see some respite in 2016. Pete Mills, senior vice president with the Mortgage Bankers Associatoin, said the current good-faith compliance framework is “helpful,” but wants the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to grant a formal safe harbor.
Royce Targets GSEs on FICO-Only Credit Scoring
National Mortgage Professional, Dec. 14, 2015–Hall, Phil
After successfully pushing through bipartisan legislation that capped the salaries of the government-sponsored enterprise (GSE) chief executives, Rep. Ed Royce (R-CA) is taking a new aim at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac with a bill that would change the GSE credit scoring process.
Fannie and Freddie’s Propaganda War
Wall Street Journal, Dec. 11, 2015–Jenkins, Holman W. Jr.
The New York Times’ ‘investigation’ of the battle over the housing giants’ fate may be nonsensical but that’s OK by certain hedge funds.