Tag Archives: Attorneys & Title Companies

President Barack Obama announced Sunday that he would withdraw Treasury Department advisor Elizabeth Warren for the top post at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and replace her with Richard Cordray.

A report published by turnaround management firm Anderson Bauman Tourtellot Vos found that a recent move by the Obama administration to clear office space in Atlanta could strangle the city's still-recovering commercial real estate sector, potentially throwing back markets in a state with the fifth-largest amount of government real estate outside of Washington, D.C. The firm fears that a reduction in government-owned property will also crimp employment.

House Republican lawmakers advanced a round of attacks against Treasury Department adviser and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau architect Elizabeth Warren Thursday, even as Democrats fired back.

Twelve defendants appeared in court around the country this week to answer for charges related to mortgage fraud, conspiracy to commit mortgage fraud, and making false information to financial institutions, among others. The estimated combined losses for lenders and families: some $12.4 million. Unaccounted-for: the number of delayed dreams, shattered finances, and lives adversely impacted by the crimes, alleged and otherwise. Several news agencies reported the news.

After a contentious suit against Bank of America and Merrill Lynch, MBIA Inc. ended a lawsuit against the mortgage giant over $5.7 billion in bad credit default protection the insurer underwrote for the bank's mortgage-backed securities. According to the filing, MBIA and Bank of America both agreed to voluntarily withdraw the claims and cover their fees for their separate cases. MBIA had sued Merrill in April 2009 with accompanying allegations that the bank committed fraud.

With less than two weeks to go before the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau launches, Treasury Department adviser and nominee Elizabeth Warren plans to attend the House Oversight Committee for the last time on Thursday, giving her Republican opponents one final opportunity to lob critiques at her brainchild before it assumes consumer financial protection authority. Analysts across the spectrum seem to agree that Warren will face yet another challenge from Republicans, who fear numerous transfers of authority from seven agencies will tip the scale between regulation and economic recovery.

The National Association of Realtors released a survey this week showing strong support for the belief that homeownership is a credible and worthy goal, with 72 percent of renters surveyed agreeing that owning a home remains a top priority. The 2011 National Housing Pulse Survey signaled a 72 percent thrust among renters who want to own a home, a marked improvement from 63 percent last year. The survey revealed a backlash against the proposed Qualified Residential Mortgage rule, which critics charge will raise down payments by 20 percent.

In a prepared statement that it submitted to the Senate Financial Institutions Subcommittee, the American Bankers Association aired concerns about a dry-up in risk in the financial markets, an increasingly serious dilemma that it blamed on Congress for trying to prevent past mistakes from occurring again. The ABA delivered the statement in response to a new loan officer compensation law, a voluminous text with multiple rules and regulations that drove up costs and lost hours for brokers.

As it gears up for a formal operations launch in July, the controversial Consumer Financial Protection Bureau continues to accept comments from the public on the Know Before You Owe mortgage disclosure program, which it opened to commentary in May. But there is something else unusual about the commentary period. The CFPB wants the public to participate in the finalizations for Know Before You Owe by logging into their social media accounts and literally comment about the rule online. This is in addition to other commentary.

Wary of an uncertain economic climate, new regulatory legislation, and the potential for burdensome capital restrictions, the nation's top lenders financed fewer mortgage loans in 2010 than in 2009 to keep their ledgers in the black a cumulative pattern that analysts and news reports say hampers housing and, potentially, recovery in the broader economy. According to analysis conducted by The Wall Street Journal, the 10 largest mortgage lenders in the country denied 26.8 percent of loan applications last year, up from 23.5 percent in 2009.