Tag Archives: Regulations

Home builders have hit a roadblock. The ramped up regulatory environment has made it difficult for home builders to build affordable homes.

In its fifth annual survey of loan originators, national recruiting firm Hammerhouse LLC found that out of more than 800 respondents, 56 percent are finding that while they still consider their job rewarding—both personally and financially—it's now less so than it was in the past.

In its latest look at the RMBS segment, Fitch says that while the market still has some rebuilding left to do, it "has seen some rather substantial improvements of late," owing in large part to improved loan underwriting standards in recent years. According to the company, the performance of recent vintage mortgage loans is the best on record so far.

The Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) Mortgage Credit Availability Index nudged up 1.2 percent in November, totaling 114.6 for the month. MBA's chief economist, Mike Fratantoni, said last month's uptick mostly came from the addition of jumbo loan programs that allow cash-out refinancing.

In a poll conducted by the Collingwood Group throughout October, 71 percent of mortgage lenders said the odds of them lowering credit score requirements for borrowers are between "somewhat" and "extremely unlikely," with several saying they feel their standards are already relatively low and that they generally follow the credit parameters set by agency investors.

Persisting tight lending standards may have cost the housing market about 18,700 new home sales in the last six months, according to a survey conducted by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). A large majority—83 percent—of homebuilders surveyed stated they lost sales because potential buyers did not qualify for mortgage loans. The average builder lost nearly 10 percent of sales for this reason, according to the NAHB survey.

A recurring theme during many of the six labs at the Five Star Conference last week was compliance and how it has changed the mortgage industry in the last few years. Laurie Maggiano, program manager for servicing and secondary markets at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), was on hand to discuss the world of mortgage servicing statutes for the "CFPB's National Servicing Standards—Update Session" section of the conference's Compliance Lab.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) announced this week that it has published final guidelines for large financial institutions regarding the strengthening of governance and risk management practices for those institutions. Covered institutions will now be required to control and manage risk-taking activities by following a written risk governance framework under the new guidelines, OCC announced.

The Federal Housing Administration announced revisions to rules surrounding post-payment interest charges and adjustable rate notifications. "Together, these new rules are responsive to the regulations implementing the Truth-in-Lending Act (Regulation Z) as revised last year by the CFPB," the agency said in a release.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued guidance this week aimed at making it easier for surviving family members who have inherited a property due the death of ...