The good news (to some) is that DOJ’s lawsuit with a $1.27 billion penalty against Bank of America was tossed by the appeals court. The court also threw out the $1 million fine levied against former Countrywide employee Rebecca Mairone. Ironically, Rebecca is the only industry executive to have been named in a suit and penalized (almost) as a result…
With all the chatter lately about the bad and the ugly in the mortgage business, I wanted to concentrate on the good. We read and hear about predatory lending, subprime loans, fines, penalties and all the challenges faced by mortgage lenders resulting from regulatory changes and CFPB scrutiny. Let’s take a look at something, actually someone, who represents all that’s…
HUD/FHA announced several substantial proposed changes in its Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) policy & procedures on May 18th. These changes are primarily designed to assure the viability of the HECM program going forward which has become a popular way for seniors to tap the equity in their homes and remain in their property & neighborhood as they grow…
HUD/FHA recently announced that they will be conducting an all-day, instructor-led training seminar for lenders with the primary focus on the Single Family Housing Policy Handbook (4000.1) and recent updates. This is an ideal time for Direct Endorsement underwriters, loan processors and loan originators to obtain training on the 4000.1 Handbook as there still remains some confusion over the revised…
Once again we find the Department of Justice out to protect the “…housing market the FHA fund…,” according to Benjamin Mizer, the principal deputy assistant Attorney General. This time, they’re after Guild Mortgage, a San Diego lender with over five decades in the mortgage lending and servicing business. Another big target. However, Guild is not a large bank but an…
The other day, I wrote about the TRID panel I moderated at our recent inaugural LoanLogics’ User’s Conference at the Sawgrass Marriott in Florida. During that presentation, Noerena Limon, Quality Analyst with the CFPB, mentioned, on more than one occasion, the importance of consumer education and what CFPB expects from a lender and is doing to help. I mentioned that…
