Tag Archives: Regulation

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau steamed ahead with proposals for new rules Tuesday that would require mortgage servicers to notify homeowners about changes to their interest rates and insurance policies. The CFPB said it would publish proposals for the rules this summer and seek to finalize them by January next year. Under the new rules, servicers would need to tally up mortgage payments for homeowners every month, issue notifications about interest-rate changes for many adjustable-rate mortgages, and stay transparent about so-called force-placed insurance policies.

Morgan Stanley may have sold its servicing sector off, but it's still going to be under a watchful eye for its previous practices. The Federal Reserve issued a consent order against Morgan Stanley Tuesday to address servicing and foreclosure issues from the company├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ós former subsidiary Saxon Mortgage Services. According to the Fed, Saxon was ranked the 34th largest residential servicer and serviced a portfolio of more than 225,000 residential loans. The Fed stated Saxon initiated at least 60,313 foreclosure actions from January 1, 2009 to December 31, 2010.

Lawmakers seated on the Senate Banking Committee slated five nominees to head up regulatory agencies for full-chamber votes Friday. Committee Chairman Tim Johnson led the voice vote that cleared nominees for boards responsible for the Federal Reserve System, FDIC, and Troubled Asset Relief Program, among others. The nominees set for votes include Jerome Powell and Jeremy Stein for governorships with the Fed; Jeremiah Norton, for a board role with the FDIC; Richard Berner, for directorship of the Office of Financial Research; and Christy Romero, for service as TARP├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ós next special inspector general.

Another bank fell quiet in Michigan Friday, lifting the national tally to 16 this year but falling short of the pace set by bank failures over the last several years. State regulators shuttered Dearborn-based Fidelity Bank, citing unsafe and unsound conditions in an order that made the FDIC receiver for $818.2 million in total assets and $747.6 million in total deposits. The Huntington National Bank stepped up to assume nearly all of Fidelity├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ós assets, along with 15 branches that it rebranded and reopened Saturday.

The Senate cleared a bill Thursday that bans bonuses for executives with either of the GSEs and requires mortgage disclosures from senior-level government officials. The bill ├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔé¼┼ô the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act ├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔé¼┼ô passed by a count of 96 to 3, according to news outlets, and combines an earlier House version with Senate amendments. Except in certain circumstances, under the law, government officials and their spouses will need to disclose report on and disclose information about their mortgage loans. GSE executives will be eligible only for federal pay grades.

The House Budget Committee unveiled a budget plan for the next fiscal year that proposes raising guarantee fees for the GSEs and dismantling the Dodd-Frank Act. Committee chair Rep. Paul Ryan billed the so-called Path to Prosperity as a measure that will slash $6.2 trillion in government expenditures over the next decade and draw down the deficit by more than $4.4 trillion in contrast with President Barack Obama├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ós budget. House Republicans proposed raising guarantee fees, downsizing portfolios for the GSEs, and eventually leaving housing finance to only the Federal Housing Administration.

The inspector general of the Federal Housing Finance Agency released a report Tuesday that criticizes the agency, Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac for a series of ongoing oversight problems with mortgage servicers. The document charges that the FHFA failed to implement service guidelines for the mortgage company last year and portrays today├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ós environment as one in which the agency, GSEs, and servicers all punt responsibility down the ladder. It also alleges that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac routinely fail to swap servicer information.