Category: Top National News

First and second lien mortgage defaults both increased in August from July, according to the S&P/Experian Consumer Credit Default Indices.

New York Times, Sept. 18, 2015–Prevost, Lisa
The share of underwater mortgage holders dropped by more than half since peaking in early 2012, driven by rising home values at the lower end of the market, a turnaround from last year.

The Mortgage Bankers Association launched a set of resource guidelines to educate both consumers and lenders and their business partners needing to comply with the new “Know Before You Owe” or TILA/RESPA Integrated Disclosure regulations that will go into effect on Oct. 3.

Nearly 20 trade groups representing lenders, banks, credit unions, title companies and others are urging federal regulators to provide guidance on how they plan to enforce a new mortgage disclosure regime that goes into effect Oct. 3.

According to a bulletin sent by Freddie Mac to its servicers on Wednesday, Freddie Mac is making several changes to its guidelines for standard and streamlined modifications.

Primary new mortgage insurance slipped to $4 billion, according to MGIC Investment’s August operational summary of its insurance subsidiaries for its primary mortgage insurance slightly down from $4.5 billion in July and June.

Sen. Bob Corker’s, R-Tenn., “Jumpstart GSE Reform” package would reverse the recent Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac CEO compensation increase and prohibit the U.S. Treasury from selling or otherwise disposing of its shares in the government-sponsored enterprises without Congressional consent. The bill was fast-tracked in the Senate, but now Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, reportedly placed hold on the package.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., is withdrawing her support for a Republican bill that had been on the fast track to bar the Treasury Department from selling Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac preferred shares.

Los Angeles has dropped a lawsuit accusing JPMorgan Chase, the largest U.S. bank, of discriminatory mortgage lending, ending the first of the city’s four lawsuits accusing major banks of driving up foreclosures among minority borrowers. 

The mortgage industry is pushing for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to adopt a formalized grace period for the enforcement of the complex TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure requirements, and now Mortgage Bankers Association is pushing Congress to take action.