Category: Top National News

American Banker, Dec. 21, 2015–Berry, Kate
New consumer-disclosure requirements are doing more than delaying the closings of some home loans. Now the mortgage industry is sounding a bigger alarm, claiming some investors are refusing to buy certain loans once they close because of potential compliance failures. The bottleneck is happening when lenders immediately try to sell loans in the secondary market. The fear is that some lenders could get stuck with loans if investors refuse to buy them, causing potential liquidity problems, especially for independent mortgage banks.

New York Times, Dec. 11, 2015–Prevost, Lisa
For buyers willing to take on the role of landlord, multifamily properties can be one of the more affordable ways into pricey housing markets.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.