The Lede

Recent developments with the Telephone Consumer Protection Act could expose mortgage servicers to significant liability, the Mortgage Bankers Association told several government agencies this week.

MISMO updated its residential standards in support of multiple regulatory and industry reporting requirements. 

Wall Street Journal, Feb. 5, 2016--Patrick, Margot HSBC Holdings PLC agreed Friday to pay $470 million to settle federal and state allegations of abusive practices in its U.S. mortgage business.

Los Angeles Times, Feb. 6, 2016--Koren, James Rufus Consumer advocates worry that the new crop of mortgage companies, particularly those with ties to now-defunct subprime lenders, may again take advantage of borrowers.

American Banker, Feb. 5, 2016--Pinto, Edward The author, resident fellow with the American Enterprise Institute, said quickly amortizing mortgages would help achieve sustainable wealth-building homeownership opportunities for low- and middle-class Americans.

National Mortgage News, Feb. 5, 2016--Finkelstein, Brad Genworth's U.S. mortgage insurance business earned $179 million in 2015, but the parent company lost $615 million as it still has problems with its long-term care insurance product.

Chicago Post-Tribune, Feb. 4, 2016--Auch-Schultz, Teresa  Three Chicago businesspeople facing sentencing for taking part in a widespread mortgage fraud case say they shouldn't have to pay restitution because of the careless practices by banks that led up to collapse of the real estate market.

New York Times, Feb. 3, 2016--Moyer, Liz Wells Fargo agreed to pay $1.2 billion to put to rest claims that it engaged in reckless lending under a Federal Housing Administration program that left a government insurance fund to clean up the mess.

Reuters, Feb. 3, 2016--Stempel, Jonathan Deutsche Bank AG must face a U.S. lawsuit seeking to hold it liable for causing $3.1 billion of investor losses by failing to properly monitor 10 trusts backed by toxic residential mortgages, a federal judge ruled on Wednesday.

Commercial Observer, Feb. 3, 2016--Balbi, Danielle Whether or not life companies will eat up more of the lending pie this year remains to be seen, but it seems like there will be more room at the table soon enough.

U.S. News & World Report, Feb. 3, 2016--Mayotte, Betsy It's pretty clear that your student loan payments are going to affect how much and how quickly you're able to save a down payment for your first home, as well as the affordability of your mortgage payments. But they can also affect your eligibility for the mortgage in the first place.

Barron's, Feb. 3, 2016--Stone, Amey Mortgage real estate investment trusts have had a tough couple of years. But companies aren't standing still. Earnings season kicked off Monday with a report from American Capital Agency that is creating some optimism.

Wall Street Journal, Feb. 2, 2016--Light, Joe Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac said Tuesday they have come to terms with lenders on how to resolve mortgage disputes, capping an effort that regulators hope will make loans cheaper and easier to get for some risky borrowers.

HousingWire, Feb. 2, 2016--Swanson, Brena; Lane, Ben The Federal Housing Finance Administration announced Tuesday morning that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are changing their loan purchasing rules to establish an independent third-party review process for loans that trigger a repurchase request due to perceived violations of the government-sponsored enterprises' representation and warranty framework. David Stevens, president and CEO of the Mortgage Bankers Association, said that these new rules will help "broaden access to credit for borrowers" by providing lenders with more clarity about how Fannie and Freddie will handle repurchase requests.

Bloomberg, Feb. 2, 2016--Hamilton, Jesse Morgan Stanley will pay $63 million to settle a series of government lawsuits claiming the bank misrepresented securities it sold to banks that later failed, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. said in a statement Tuesday.

National Mortgage News, Feb. 2, 2016--Bisbey, Allison Lenders argue that the GSEs would be better off buying more loans that are already insured, rather than transferring credit risk after holding them for a time. But Freddie Mac's Kevin Palmer says certainty of reimbursement is more important than the timing of risk transfers.

Builder Magazine, Feb. 2. 2016 A team at Urban Institute used data to calculate how many more mortgages there would be if not for tight credit standards. This team, which already calculated 4 million were missing between 2009 and 2013, found another 1.2 million missing in 2014.

Real Estate Journals, Feb. 8, 2016 Freddie Mac at the MBA Commercial Real Estate Finance Conference announced the lenders that closed the most multifamily financing volume with the company last year. CBRE Capital Markets and Berkadia Commercial Mortgage topped the list.