News By Edition

CEO Michael Franco of SitusAMC, CEO Paul Anselmo of Evolve Mortgage Services, and Executive Vice President Nate Johnson of SLK Global spoke with Dodd Frank Update about what their companies have done to be successful during the pandemic, and what advice they have as the industry begins to move beyond this once-in-a-century crisis.

To learn what they had to say, read on.

The Mortgage Bankers Association’s Bob Broeksmit, president and CEO, and Susan Stewart, chairman, spoke at the group’s 2021 spring conference and expo for independent mortgage banks, secondary markets, servicing, and technology.

The two addressed the audience on topics focusing on the path forward as the industry begins to move beyond the COVID-19 pandemic and its economic impact.

Read on for more details.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency issued a letter granting preliminary conditional approval for Paxos National Trust’s national bank charter.

The new bank and its affiliate, the Paxos National Trust Company, LLC, will be wholly owned subsidiaries of Kabompo Holdings, Ltd., of Grant Cayman, Cayman Islands.

Read on for more details about the conditional approval. 

The Credit Union National Association sent a letter to U.S. Department of the Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen regarding concerns it had about the conflict between the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s proposal to delay the implementation date for the qualified mortgage rule and the Preferred Stock Purchase Agreement amendments recently agreed upon by the Treasury and the Federal Housing Finance Association.

Read on for more details.

The Mortgage Bankers Association announced it has released two templates for adjustable-rate mortgages in preparation for the expiration of the London Interbank Offered Rate.

Read on for more details.

MISMO is seeking public comment on its new eModification Reference Guide.

For details on the guide and comment period, read on.

The National Credit Union Administration has renewed temporary measures designed to give credit unions relief during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Read on for more details. 

Fannie Mae’s Economic and Strategic Research Group’s April 2021 commentary forecasts a rapid acceleration in economic growth in the coming months.

“Economic activity rebounded sharply following February’s weather-related pullback, and the acceleration is expected to continue through the second quarter before tapering in the second half of the year,” Fannie Mae stated.

Read on for more details.

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) announced at its Spring Conference and Expo 2021 that purchase originations are on track to establish a new record in 2021.

“The housing market is incredibly strong this year, with robust housing demand in nearly every part of the country,” MBA Chief Economist and Senior Vice President for Research and Industry Technology Mike Fratantoni said.

For more details from the forecast, read on.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency announced Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will extend some temporary loan origination flexibilities, while others will be allowed to expire April 30, 2021.

Read on for more details. 

Evergreen Home Loans, a full-service direct home loan lender in the Western U.S., has moved all its loan servicing in-house, the company announced.

Read on for more details.

The National Credit Union Administration announced applications for the 2021 round of Community Development Revolving Loan Fund grants will be accepted starting May 3, 2021.

Read on for more details. 

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s Senior Associate Director Daniel Coates testified before U.S. House Financial Services Subcommittee on Investor Protection, Entrepreneurship, and Capital Markets.

Coates spoke about transitioning to an alternative interest rate calculation for mortgages, student loans, business borrowing, and other financial products in light of the London Interbank Offered Rate discontinuation.

Read on for more details.

In a joint letter, the Independent Community Bankers of America, the National Association of Federally-Insured Credit Unions, and other trade groups urged the Treasury and the Federal Housing Finance Agency to delay product and program constraints that were included in recent amendments to the Preferred Stock Purchase Agreements for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Read on for more details.

The Mortgage Bankers Association’s Builder Application Survey data showed an increase in new home purchase applications for March 2021.

“New home purchase application activity is typically strong in March, and this year did not disappoint,” Joel Kan, MBA associate vice president of economic and industry forecasting, said.

To learn about the increase, read on.

Fannie Mae announced it has received the 2021 ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year – Sustained Excellence award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Department of Energy.

For more details about the award, read on. 

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency designated four senior national bank examiners, the highest honor bestowed to national bank examiners.

Read on for more details.

The Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council’s State Liaison Committee has a new committee member, whose service started April 1, 2021, and will continue through March 31, 2023.

To find out who the new member is, read on.

Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Mark Calabria spoke with Tim Rood of SitusAMC on an episode of On the Hill.

Calabria discussed some of his experiences, the perspective he brought with him to the agency, and how they shaped his approach to regulating the government sponsored enterprises.

For details from the podcast, read on.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. issued its annual edition of Consumer Compliance Supervisory Highlights.

This year’s report includes a summary of the organization’s supervisory approach during the COVID-19 pandemic, how institutions handled service to their customers and protected their employees, and the most prevalent consumer protection violations.

To learn more about this report, read on.

Fannie Mae issued a letter notifying its lenders that the Treasury and the Federal Housing Finance Agency have imposed additional criteria through amendments made to the Preferred Stock Purchase Agreement (PSPA) to loans acquired by the Enterprise.

“The PSPA requires that we acquire loans that meet the revised General Qualified Mortgage (QM) loan definition in the [Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s] rule that became effective March 1, 2021,” the letter stated.

Read on for more details.

According to Black Knight’s new monthly data report, the refinance share of the originations market decreased in March.

Read on for more details.

Nomis Solutions, a pricing and profitability management solutions provider, appointed a vice president, head of mortgage product and strategy.

To learn about the “fintech expert” read on.

The Mortgage Bankers Association’s Mortgage Credit Availability Index report showed mortgage credit availability increased in March.

Read on for more details.

In a Capital Markets podcast, Ginnie Mae’s Senior Vice President for the Office of Capital Markets John Getchis and Mr. Cooper President and CEO Jay Bray had an in-depth discussion on how the mortgage servicer met the challenge of the pandemic and subsequent legislation.

They also discussed what Mr. Cooper is expecting in the coming months and handling the volume of loans exiting forbearance.

Read on for more details.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued a notice of proposed rulemaking to delay the effective date of two debt collection rules passed late 2020. The rules are set to take effect Nov. 30, 2021.

The proposed delay is meant to give affected parties more time to comply in light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Read on for more details.

Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) modified loan application register data for 2020 has been published on the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council’s HMDA platform for about 4,400 filers.

“HMDA data can help determine whether financial institutions are serving the housing needs of their communities and can better drive public-sector investment,” Consumer Financial Protection Bureau acting Director Dave Uejio said.

Read on for more details.

The American Bankers Association named a senior vice president for operational risk and cybersecurity.

To learn about the newly expanded role, read on.

Sales Boomerang, an automated borrower intelligence and retention system, has joined the American Credit Union Mortgage Association as an affiliated member.

Read on for more details.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. announced the new members of its advisory committee on community banking.

Read on to find out who is part of the committee.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) warned mortgage servicers to be prepared for the surge of borrowers who will need assistance to stay in their homes once their loans come out of forbearance.

The CFPB also issued a notice of proposed rulemaking that would make temporary changes to mortgage servicing in order to help prevent avoidable foreclosures.

Read on for more details.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced it is rescinding seven policy statements issued at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

These statements, issued between March 26, 2020 and June 3, 2020, provided flexibilities to financial institutions in consumer financial markets including mortgages, credit reporting, credit cards, and prepaid cards.

To learn what statements have been rescinded, read on.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency’s Mortgage Metrics Report, Fourth Quarter 2020 showed the performance of first-lien residential mortgages in the federal banking system declined during that period.

The data is collected from seven national banks with large mortgage-servicing portfolios, including Bank of America, Citibank, HSBC, JPMorgan Chase, PNC, U.S. Bank, and Wells Fargo.

For details from the report, read on.

Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Marcia Fudge said the agency had no “near-term” plans to change the Federal Housing Administration mortgage insurance premium pricing.

For more details, read on.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s House Price Index showed an increase in January compared with the previous month, as well as year-over-year.

Read on for more details.

The Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) has named its chairman for the 2021-2023 term. The FFIEC also named its vice chairman.

Read on for more details.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency released its Foreclosure Prevention and Refinance report for the fourth quarter of 2020.

The report highlights foreclosure prevention actions completed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the Enterprises), loan modifications completed to reduce borrower’s payments, the Enterprises’ delinquency rates, and real estate owned activity and inventory.

For details from the report, read on.

The Mortgage Bankers Association released its Quarterly Mortgage Bankers Performance Report for the fourth quarter of 2020, which offers a variety of performance measures on the mortgage banking industry.

Though profits remained strong for most independent mortgage banks and mortgage subsidiaries of chartered banks at the end of last year, there was a decrease in profits compared with the record-setting third quarter.

For findings from the report, read on.

The National Association of Federally-Insured Credit Unions wrote three letters to regulators asking them to address fintech bank charters as those companies seek to participate in the consumer financial marketplace.

The letters went to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the House Financial Services and the House Energy and Commerce Committees, and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.

For details from the letters, read on.

October Research, LLC produced the first of a four-part webinar series titled Economic Forecast Series – Q1 2021.

Read on for more details.

Embrace Home Loans announced it will be rolling out SimpleNexus’ homeownership platform, integrated with First American Docutech, for more than 300 retail mortgage loan officers before the end of 2021.

Read on to learn more about a first-of-its-kind feature the company is offering.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. has appointed a regional director for the Chicago region.

Read on to find out who.