Tag Archives: Compliance

Five federal agencies issued Tuesday a statement assuring creditors that they do not run the risk of being found in violation of fair lending laws should they choose to only originate qualified mortgages (QM) as defined earlier in the year. With creditors having to consider a balance of secondary market opportunities, capital requirements, and credit and liability risk, regulators say they expect there will be a need for most businesses to fine-tune their products in response--something they should be used to.

LoanLogics, a Pennsylvania-based company specializing in loan quality management and performance analytics, announced new enhancements to its LoanDecisions pricing and eligibility platform.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has ordered two mortgage banks to pay civil penalties for violating the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) with allegedly inaccurate for applications from 2011. According to a release from the agency, Mortgage Master (a nonbank headquartered in Walpole, Massachusetts), and Washington Federal (a Seattle-based bank), failed HMDA reviews when it was determined "that their compliance systems were inadequate and that they had severely compromised mortgage lending data."

The Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) Mortgage Credit Availability Index (MCAI) decreased 0.7 percent in September to 110.7. "Credit availability tightened last month as more lenders removed program offerings with loan terms greater than 30 years and/or interest-only features, similar to the trend we observed last month," said Mike Fratantoni, MBA's VP of research and economics. "[W]e believe this reflects lenders' implementation of the Ability to Repay/Qualified Mortgage regulation which comes fully into effect in January."

Fiserv, Inc., a provider of technology solutions for the financial services industry, says lenders and servicers seeking help to maintain compliance should look no further than the LoanComplete suite.

HUD released on Monday a proposal to define the type of qualified mortgage (QM) that would be insured, guaranteed, or administered by the agency. The proposed definition is aligned with the Ability-to-Repay rule laid out in the Truth in Lending Act (TILA) and includes provisions that prohibit loan terms in excess of 30 years and that limit upfront points and fees to no more than 3 percent--making it consistent with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's existing QM rule.

Mortech, a Zillow business providing mortgage technology software for bankers and secondary market teams, announced that Tom Erickson has been promoted to the position of mortgage industry and compliance specialist.

Originators and servicers are going to have to step up their documentation procedures as regulatory guidelines dovetail, financial services firm PwC says in a new white paper. "The age-old question asks: if a tree falls in the forest and no one hears it, does it make a sound? A modern version to that question might be: if a lender in fact determines a borrower's ability to repay, or originates a Qualified Mortgage (QM), but cannot evidence it, has the lender complied with the Ability-to-Pay (ATR) or QM standards?" PwC asks.

Mortgage-related litigation remained historically high in the first quarter, according to data from Mortgage Daily. The site's First Quarter 2013 Mortgage Litigation Index shows there were 227 mortgage-related cases tracked that saw activity in Q1--little changed from Q4 2012's 223 but up from 216 the year prior. Cases related to mortgage-backed securities, regulation, commercial mortgages, and investor problems all saw increased activity.

With months to go before the implementation of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's (CFPB) qualified mortgage (QM) rules, the agency released several finalized amendments and clarifications created to ease the process.