Tag Archives: Dodd-Frank

Despite mortgage rates hitting rock bottom Thursday, few analysts expect an uptick in demand anytime soon, with consumers concerned about their job security, underwriting standards still tight, and a foreclosure glut competing with home construction. Given tough times, MReport canvassed the industry ├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔé¼┼ô online, in the field, and on the speaking circuit ├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔé¼┼ô and uncovered 12 strategies relevant to originators in a tough market. Six of these hot tips made it into MReport's online exclusive.

New regulations targeting capital requirements are challenging big banks in the U.S. and abroad. While large American financial institutions have been grappling with more strenuous capital rules since the Dodd-Frank Act was released, European banks are set to experience similar adaptations with the news that The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision chose to ignore stringent lobbying, in favor of mandating extended capital funding for mega banks. The committee moved forward with capital surcharges from 1 to 2.5 percent for the biggest banks worldwide.

In a surprise move, Moody's Investors Service slashed credit ratings for mortgage giants Bank of America, Citigroup, and Wells Fargo Wednesday afternoon, citing concerns that the federal government may not rush to pick up their remains and bail out the institutions in another liquidity crisis. Critics and advocates of the Dodd-Frank Act used the downgrades to alternately justify the legislation or undermine it in the national square. The downgrades arrive amid a slew of bad times for the nation├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ós largest mortgage lenders.

Treasury special adviser Raj Date made headlines again after announcing Tuesday that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau plans to finalize the ability-to-repay rule early next year. His remarks follow a series of other barnstorming speeches in the ramp-up for several rules. Once approved, the new rule, formerly proposed by the Federal Reserve, will broaden the scope of Regulation Z under Truth-in-Lending and prevent lenders from making loans to consumers without qualifying assets and income.

Enhanced technology initiatives for wholesale and correspondent lenders is now available thanks to ClosingCorp's new platform. The company recently announced that it would release the SmartGFE Service, targeting streamlined processing for entities in both markets. ClosingCorp's SmartGFE product will provide instant access to RESPA-based Good Faith Estimate (GFE) data to those in the wholesale and correspondent segments.

If recent remarks by Treasury adviser Raj Date signal anything, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau means to press forward with the responsibilities enshrined for it under the Dodd-Frank Act. The CFPB holdover, who filled the shoes of Elizabeth Warren, now a Senate candidate, explored events in the lead-up to the controversial bureau even as an unwavering Republican opposition holds the line. Assuming responsibility for 18 consumer financial laws, the CFPB has moved forward with rules and proposals.

As Rep. Barney Frank (D-Massachusetts) made waves this week with legislation to curb voting rights for Fed governors, key provisions under his namesake law, the Dodd-Frank Act, manifested themselves in decisions by major federal regulators. The FDIC and Federal Reserve rubber-stamped a rule that require the nation's largest banks to send up blueprints for bankruptcy, while the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau steadily moved forward with the uniform mortgage disclosure form.

Complex financial evaluation is nothing new for the Federal Reserve, but federal regulators exploring Capital One Financial Corp.'s potential acquisition of ING Groep NV's online banking platform, ING Direct USA, are applying extreme examination to the transaction. According to the Fed, Capital One's proposed purchase of ING's U.S. web-based banking business could create a financial institution so enormous and complicated that it could affect the broader marketplace, and the Fed has issued a two-page letter asking for responses to critical queries.

Mortgage application volume suffered a drubbing Wednesday, even as the U.S. economy fell behind in important global rankings and the euro zone crisis continues to trouble investors. With numerous economists attributing lows for consumer confidence to a bevy of international concerns, MReport spoke with analysts to spot any troubling signs for housing as the global economy wobbles. The verdict: Market watchers should keep an eye on euro zone fallout for mortgage rates and credit supply.

Elizabeth Warren is moving closer to confirming her 2012 Senate bid. The controversial professor-turned-politico took formal, exploratory actions in Massachusetts recently, indicating that Warren's rumored plans to run for office are more than speculation. Officially developing an exploratory campaign committee, Warren has also initiated a donation website, elizabethforma.com, and she seems to be the likely liberal candidate vying to unseat Republican Sen. Scott Brown next November.