Tag Archives: Treasury Department

Lawmakers seated on the Senate Banking Committee convened a hearing Wednesday to determine just how radically draft legislation should lift barriers to refinance opportunities for homeowners and lenders. The message from those testifying: More refinance modifications would help, but beware of the impact for investors and lenders. The Obama administration moved on expansions to HARP last fall by working with the Federal Housing Finance Agency to sign off on lower loan-to-value ratio requirements and remove obstacles for lenders and servicers.

The House Financial Services Committee signed off on largely symbolic legislation Wednesday that would repeal bailout funds under the Dodd-Frank Act, eliminate force-placed insurance requirements, and rope the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau into future congressional appropriations processes. Clearing the legislation by a party-line vote, committee members billed it as a way to slash $35 billion from the national deficit. The bill also proposed doing away with bailout mechanisms under Dodd-Frank.

The special inspector general for the Troubled Asset Relief Program released a damning report Thursday that said only 3 percent of the funds designated to the hardest-hit homeowners have reached their goals. The report found that only $217.4 million will have helped 30,640 homeowners by 2017, when the Hardest-Hit Fund expires. Seventy-eight percent of HHF funds went to unemployment assistance for homeowners, and nearly 98 percent went to the same or helped reinstate past due amounts, according to the report.

All-time highs for housing affordability persisted this week as interest rates for fixed-rate mortgages hovered near their record-breaking lows, a sign that Europe continues to ward off investors. Real estate Web site Zillow found only a minor shift for the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, which lingered between 3.70 percent and 3.75 percent before nestling at 3.69 percent Tuesday. The 15-year loan stayed near 2.95 percent, along with rates for 5-year and 1-year adjustable-rate mortgages that averaged 2.65 percent, according to the Web site.

A troubled year for housing surfaced in a February housing scorecard from the Obama administration Friday, underscoring a still-unsteady pace for home prices, mortgage origination volume, and housing supply. Jointly released by HUD and the Treasury Department, the scorecard reflects an industry still in transition from crisis to recovery. The scorecard cited a National Association of Realtors Home Affordability Index, showing that it moved from 179.1 February last year to 194.9 this year, not far from the level seen in January.

The Justice Department has reached a deal with Flagstar Bancorp, Inc. The agency recently announced that the two entities have struck an agreement that pertains to underwriting practices related to loans insured by the Federal Housing Administration and HUD. FBC will revise its fourth quarter and full year financial results for 2011 as per the terms of the transaction. Additionally, FBC will reaffirm its forward looking statements for 2012, made by the company during its earnings call for fourth quarter findings in 2011.

An awkward and slightly tense air greeted Consumer Financial Protection Bureau director Richard Cordray at his first congressional hearing Tuesday, where the new appointee cast his agency as one that would strive to reduce duplication and increase transparency. Although careful in their approach to the new director, Republican committee members frequently cited their concerns about federal overreach, the constitutionality of his recess appointment, and interests for transparency. The CFPB can now supervise nonbank financial entities.

Candidates for the Republican presidential nomination roundly criticized Freddie Mac Monday, taking swipes at rival and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich for services he rendered to the mortgage company as an independent contractor in 2006. Yesterday The Gingrich Group ├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔé¼┼ô founded by its namesake and currently doing business as the Center for Health Transformation ├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔé¼┼ô revealed that Freddie Mac paid Gingrich $25,000 in monthly fees for consulting services he rendered to the mortgage company as an independent contractor.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and Federal Trade Commission signed an agreement Monday to eliminate regulatory overlap by frequently sharing information about investigations and rulemaking proposals. A Memorandum of Understanding obliges the agencies to meet no less than once quarterly to share information, notify each other of action pending against entities, and coordinate training exercises for examiners and personnel. The agreement fulfills provisions under the Dodd-Frank Act that charge the agencies with signing a memorandum.

President Barack Obama stopped by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau earlier Friday to welcome the staff and new director Richard Cordray. The chief executive sent shockwaves around the mortgage servicing and lending industries Wednesday by making the controversial decision to recess appoint Cordray as CFPB director. The move bypassed lawmakers in the Senate, namely 44 Republicans that vowed earlier this year to block any nominee for the bureau, no matter the party affiliation.