The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced the appointment of three experts to senior positions within the agency.
Read More »Commentary: Changes to Reporting Requirements Could Mean Trouble
While seemingly innocuous, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's (CFPB) push to change reporting requirements under the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act may have unintended consequences for both servicers and legal teams to assess discriminatory lending practices. The CFPB is inviting input on both the content and the method of reporting. Now is the time to speak up on these matters.
Read More »Credit Availability Up in February
The Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) Mortgage Credit Availability Index, a measure of borrower eligibility and underwriting criteria from more than 85 lenders, moved up half a percentage point to 113.5 last month, building on an increase of two points recorded in January. Once again, the expansion in credit offerings in February was the result of offsetting factors, said MBA chief economist Mike Fratantoni.
Read More »CFPB Deputy Draws Fire with ‘Ill-Timed’ Criticisms
After Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Deputy Director Steven Antonakes decried mortgage servicers for not doing enough to mend the industry after the recent housing crisis, one industry leader called his comments "inflammatory and without benefit to the audience." Ed Delgado, president and CEO of the Five Star Institute, believes the deputy director's remarks are not only ill-timed but also counterproductive.
Read More »CFPB Enhances Mortgage Data Tool
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) unveiled a new tool Friday aimed at making Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) data more user-friendly.
Read More »CFPB Details Ongoing Servicing Problems in 2013
A number of "unfair and deceptive" servicing practices "continued to plague consumers throughout 2013," the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) says in a recent report. "Taking action against mortgage servicing practices that harm consumers is a key priority for the CFPB," Director Richard Cordray said. "Especially under the detailed protections of our new rules, we expect services to clean up their act and provide responsible customer service."
Read More »Industry Experts Discuss QM Pitfalls
While the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) touts its recently enacted mortgage regulations as a "back-to-basics approach" to lending, not everyone agrees. Speaking on "Mortgage Markets Today," Chris Whalen, EVP and managing director for Carrington Holding Company, discussed the pitfalls in the new regulations with Louis Amaya, host of the Five Star Internet radio show and CEO of iServe Companies. Among other things, Whalen predicts politicians and regulators will see pressure to review the rules, which he says have gone too far.
Read More »CFPB Targets Missouri Lender over Alleged Kickbacks
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) last week ordered a Missouri-based mortgage lender and its president to pay more than $80,000 for funneling illegal kickbacks in exchange for real estate referrals. According to CFPB's complaint, filed in mid-January, Fidelity Financial Mortgage Corporation (FFMC) in 2010 entered into an agreement with a Missouri bank in which Fidelity would lease an office at the bank in exchange for business referrals.
Read More »LendingQB Launches ‘Lean Lending’ Model
LendingQB, a California-based loan origination software (LOS) provider, has unveiled its Lean Lending model designed to reduced origination costs by as much as half.
Read More »CFPB Director: Newly Implemented Rules Take Industry ‘Back to Basics’
CFPB Director Richard Cordray spoke to an audience in Phoenix, Arizona, to praise what he called the bureau's "back to basics" approach for the mortgage market.
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