Nonbank Financial

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently issued an enforcement action against Stanley Black & Decker involving inaccurate proxy disclosures in which the company underreported certain compensation paid to high-level executives.

Proxy statements filed by the company from 2018-2021 indicate that Stanley paid $1 million on average to four executive officers and one director. These payments were disclosed as “All Other Compensation” in financial reports, according to an SEC release. 

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The topic of cryptocurrency has become increasingly mainstream, so much so that Bitcoin ATMs now can be found just about anywhere. The Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City recently published an article detailing findings from its research on this relatively new and largely unexamined industry, describing how these standalone machines work, who uses them and some of the risks faced by the industry.

Bitcoin ATMs, also referred to as “BTMs,” are standalone kiosks that convert cash to crypto.

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In the agency’s first enforcement action involving its “marketing rule” pertaining to cryptocurrencies, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ordered a fintech investment advisory firm to pay a $1 million settlement for allegedly misleading investors about performance metrics. 

Additionally, the SEC found other compliance issues present in the company’s business practices, which led to misleading disclosures about the custody of clients’ cryptocurrency assets.

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Coinbase Financial Markets, Inc. secured regulatory approval from the National Futures Association, a Commodity Futures Trading Commission-designated organization, to offer access to crypto futures through its platforms. Read on »

Mortgage originations, including refinances, rose 22 percent from the first to second quarter, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s Center for Microeconomic Data quarterly report on household debt and credit.

The mortgage debt is part of the $17.06 trillion in total household debt reported in the second quarter.

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Homeowners with a mortgage rate above 5 percent are nearly twice as likely to say they plan to sell their home than those paying a rate below 5 percent, according to a Zillow survey.

About 80 percent of mortgage holders reported having a mortgage rate of less than 5 percent and about 90 percent have a rate of less than 6 percent. Almost one-third reported a rate of less than 3 percent.

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Mortgage applications for new home purchases increased 26.1 percent year-over-year in June, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) Builder Application Survey (BAS).

Applications fell 5 percent from May.

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Movement Mortgage agreed to pay the United States $23.75 million to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by failing to comply with material program requirements when it originated and underwrote mortgages insured by the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Federal Housing Administration or guaranteed by the Department of Veterans Affairs. Read on for more details. Read on »

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced in Mortgagee Letter 2023.13 that lenders must use the Supplemental Consumer Information Form from Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac for all FHA-insured mortgage loans with application dates on or after Aug. 28. Read on for more details. Read on »

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac helped keep nearly 60,000 homeowners in their homes in the first quarter, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s recent Foreclosure Prevention and Refinance Report for first quarter 2023. Read on for more details. Read on »