News By Edition

The daily mortgage rate topped 5 percent at the beginning of April. This is happening for the first time since 2010. Property market volatility has prompted warnings from the Fed of a possible housing bubble.

This comes as the Federal Reserve has made it clear it intends to further increase interest rates through the end of the year. Recent statements from Fed officials make it clear that more rate hikes will be coming as it looks for ways to fight the highest inflation rates in over 40 years.

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Cannabis is a controlled substance and illegal under federal law. Because of this, it is impossible for anyone in the cannabis industry to obtain government-backed loans; and lenders open themselves up to legal issues if they have clients in the cannabis industry.

Recently, the House of Representatives passed legislation that would remove cannabis from the list of controlled substances and modify the way in which its usage, and the billions of dollars the industry produces, are regulated.

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In JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon’s annual letter to shareholders, he warned 2022 may hold a great deal of uncertainty.

Record inflation, global sanctions against Russia and turbulent geopolitics, a continuing pandemic and the growth of fintechs are among the factors Dimon believes will have significant effect on the U.S. and global economy this year.

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The United States Senate Republican Policy Committee has released a policy paper setting forth the GOP’s current policy position on cryptocurrency. The paper looks at the potential benefits and risks of cryptocurrency and relating technology becoming more mainstream.

The paper also makes note of President Joe Biden and other Democrats for their approach to cryptocurrency regulation.

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XBTO, a crypto-currency market-maker, is set to fund its first bitcoin-backed mortgage as an alternative to traditional finance.

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The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has released its report of consumer complaints received by the agency during 2021. During that time, the CFPB received approximately 994,000 complaints, of which nearly 32,000 complaints related to the mortgage industry.

Of those 32,000, less than one percent related to reverse mortgage services while 65 percent were regarding conventional home mortgages.

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Fannie Mae’s CEO, chair of its board, and another member of its board all announced they will resign effective May 1.

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An enforcement action brought by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau against 1st Alliance Lending and three individuals within the company has survived efforts by the defendants to get the case dismissed.

The case revolves around whether certain sales employees were required to maintain mortgage originator licenses in every state in which 1^st Alliance Lending operated.

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The National Credit Union Administration (NCUA), Office of Minority and Women Inclusion (OMWI) has delivered its annual report to Congress on the diversity and inclusion efforts and initiatives by NCUA through 2021.

The primary focus of OMWI has been to provide and promote actionable steps that credit unions may take to create a more inclusive environment for members and employees.

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In a recent speech, the chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Gary Gensler, doubled down on the commission’s plans to require regulated companies to report climate-change related activities.

This move triggered indignation from Republican officials on the commission and in Congress.

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The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) has issued a letter to all FDIC-supervised institutions that intend to engage in, or that are already engaged in, any activities involving or related to crypto-assets. The letter instructs all institutions to notify FDIC of current or anticipated crypto-asset related activities.

The FDIC intends to review all information and provide relevant supervisory feedback.

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Attorneys general from 21 states and Washington, D.C., are calling on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to stop servicers from charging consumers convenience fees for using convenient payment methods to pay bills.

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The Federal Housing Finance Agency announced that Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae will require servicers to suspend foreclosure activities for up to 60 days if the servicer has been notified the borrower has applied for assistance under the Homeowner Assistance Fund.

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Over the past year, the housing market has seen incredible growth. With record low interest rates, more people were getting new mortgages and refinancing their homes.

However, studies are now finding that this rapid growth is shutting some consumers out of the housing market.

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Less than a month after President Joe Biden signed an executive order directing the executive branch of the federal government to assess the potential risks and benefits of a central bank digital currency (CBDC), members of Congress have begun acting in response.

While Democrat members of Congress are looking to support the president’s push for a CBDC, their Republican counterparts are pushing new legislation to limit the federal government’s ability to create a digital currency.

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Banks, credit unions, bankers’ associations and consumer groups have sent a letter to the chair and ranking members of the House Committee on Financial Services calling for legislation to close the industrial loan company loophole which exists in current law.

The letter expresses concerns over the growth of technology companies that have entered the finance and lending industries.

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A proposed rule from the Department of Housing and Urban Development would allow the Federal Housing Administration to consider and utilize a 40-year mortgage modification. This would offer a 10-year extension on the current standard mortgage term.

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Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) announced that it plans to launch its first mortgage futures contracts, subject to regulatory approval. The futures contracts will be based on ICE mortgage rate lock indices.

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The Federal Reserve Board has announced action against six individuals for engaging in fraudulently obtaining loans and grants administered under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Securities (CARES) Act.

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Senators Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) are developing bipartisan legislation designed to establish a regulatory framework for the crypto industry. The senators are trying to address safety and consumer protection concerns while providing stability and oversight to the digital asset markets.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has also spoken publicly for the first time about the role Treasury will take in the future crypto regulatory framework; and SEC Chair Gary Gensler continues his efforts to expand investor protections in the crypto markets.

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A report from the Federal Housing Finance Agency showed a notable decline in the number of loans in serious delinquency in the fourth quarter 2021.

The Foreclosure Prevention and Refinance Report also showed declines in the number of loans in forbearance and a decline in the number of foreclosures during the fourth quarter of 2021.

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The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) has issued a request for comment on its latest statement of principles for climate-related financial risk management for large financial institutions. Read on for more details

Panorama Mortgage Group, a multi-brand national mortgage company based in Nevada, has hired a chief financial officer.

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In a letter from the Democrats of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) and his colleagues called for regulators to find ways to encourage lending to “Main Street.”

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The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is encouraging mortgage lenders and servicers to work with state housing finance agencies to help borrowers utilize the Homeowner Assistance Fund (HAF). The HAF was part of the American Rescue Plan Act which Congress designed to provide economic stimulus and aid during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The purpose of the funds is to provide aid to homeowners experiencing hardships after Jan. 21, 2020.

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The House Financial Services Committee held a hearing to discuss the effects of overdraft fees on consumers. The hearing included testimony from a number of expert witnesses as the committee considers legislation to restrict or ban financial institutions from administering overdraft fees to consumers.

Republican representatives and witnesses used the hearing to question the authority of Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s authority to regulate financial institution’s abilities to apply fees on consumer accounts.

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Preliminary analysis of the 2021 Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data showed a significant majority of new loan originations and refinance loans were performed by nonbank lenders. Bank lenders were still more likely to see high dollar value mortgages than non-bank lenders.

The data also indicated racial disparities in mortgage and refinance lending are trending closer to each demographic’s share of the overall population.

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In a letter to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), the Consumer Bankers Association (CBA) called for the CFPB to maintain consumer accessibility to buy now, pay later (BNPL) while addressing some of the critical issues facing the growing lending market.

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The former president of ReverseVision, a provider of private reverse mortgage sales origination software, has moved to mortgage technology company Gateless, which offers artificial intelligence solutions to companies operating in the mortgage space.

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The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) has issued a request for information and comments regarding the current state of the regulatory framework of the Bank Merger Act. The request is seeking comments on the current application of the laws, practices, rules, regulations, guidance and statements of policy that apply to FDIC-regulated institutions.

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Two years since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the federal government has begun a full-force crack down on fraudulent activity relating to the Payment Protection Program (PPP) and Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act programs that were meant to help those whose economic well-being was most effected by the pandemic and related shutdowns.

This shift signals a major shift away from borrowers’ fraud and towards lenders that facilitated fraudulent borrowing.

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Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Director Rohit Chopra, in a lecture given at the University of Pennsylvania Law School, stated that the CFPB intends to “forcefully address” institutions that repeatedly break the law.

Chopra sets targets on a number of institutions he said the government has historically treated as “too big to jail.”

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A recent report from the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) examined the risks, benefits, and realities of the fast-growing decentralized finance (DeFi) industry. The report looked into each layer of a DeFi structure to develop a comprehensive understanding of the decentralized nature of these systems.

IOSCO found the distributed ledger technology may not be as decentralized as the name suggests.

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Financial services provider Figure Lending and asset management firm Apollo have completed a transaction involving the origination of digital mortgage loans and transfer of ownership via blockchain technology.

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FINRA has issued a regulatory notice to remind member firms about the scope of broker-dealer chief compliance officer (CCO) supervisory liability under FINRA rules.

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The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has sent its annual update to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. In the update letter, the FTC indicated its intent to apply greater scrutiny to the lending process using the Equal Credit Opportunity Act.

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Wells Fargo is facing questions from Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) about the data and algorithms used in 2020 and 2021 to evaluate mortgage refinance applications. A potential class action suit has been filed in the federal district court in California claiming Wells Fargo has engaged in “modern-day redlining.” Democrat senators. on the banking committee call for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development to investigate.

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The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced new rules for regulated public companies regarding disclosures relating to climate change and climate-related risks. These proposed disclosure requirements would have to include both climate-related risk management as well as specifics about greenhouse gas emissions from the registrant-company’s activities.

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The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has released a report about the benefits and challenges of using blockchain technology in both financial and non-financial industries. Data privacy, energy consumption, and regulatory uncertainties were listed as key concerns.

The GAO report also showed potential benefits to a number of industries through the adoption of blockchain technology.

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The Mortgage Bankers Association has released a study finding that independent mortgage firms posting pre-tax net profits declined during the fourth quarter of 2021 from 92 percent in third quarter 2021. This comes as new home sales dropped in February 2022.

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Wolters Kluwer Governance, Risk and Compliance signed an agreement with The Reynolds and Reynolds Company to acquire International Document Services, a U.S. provider of compliance and document generation software solutions for the mortgage and real estate industry.

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In a proposal jointly developed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and the National Credit Union Administration, the Federal Reserve Board announced updates to the policies and procedures governing administrative proceedings for supervised financial institutions.

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