Industry News

He already has made waves in the real estate industry for his decision in PHH Corp.’s case against the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).

Now, D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Brett Kavanaugh soon could be in an even more powerful position to threaten the CFPB’s structure if he succeeds Justice Anthony Kennedy on the U.S. Supreme Court.

Marc Gottridge, head of the global financial litigation practice at Hogan Lovells, spoke to RESPA News on what Kavanaugh’s nomination could mean for decisions affecting the bureau.

The latest review of loan quality findings by ACES Risk Management (ARMCO) shows that critical defects increased as purchase transactions declined.

The ARMCO Mortgage QC Trends Report for the fourth quarter of 2017 found the critical defect rate increased slightly, from 1.65 percent to 1.68 percent, while the percentage of purchase transactions went down for the second straight quarter.

Read on for more information on why the report showed a shift from TRID defects found in loans.

As Leandra English officially left the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Monday, acting director Mick Mulvaney told RESPA News that he never met her – nearly seven months after he came to the bureau as acting director.

The revelation is not the first time Mulvaney has publicly stated he had not met English, but it’s the first announcement since April, when he appeared before the Senate Banking Committee.

Read on for more details, including Mulvaney’s pick to replace English as acting deputy director of the bureau.

Non-bank mortgage lenders in California reported significantly less activity in 2017, with both the number of loans and combined principal amount declining by nearly 30 percent from 2016, according to a recent report by the Department of Business Oversight (DBO).

Non-bank lenders licensed by the DBO under the California Residential Mortgage Lending Act (CRMLA) reported originating 431,052 loans in 2017, down 28.4 percent from 602,430 in 2016.

But statistics don’t tell the whole story about the state’s housing market. Read on to learn why.

Phillip Schulman, a partner at Mayer Brown LLP, spoke at the National Settlement Services Summit (NS3) on RESPA compliance in the aftermath of PHH Corp.’s case against the Consumer Federal Protection Bureau (CFPB).

Schulman called it the most important decision facing the CFPB and RESPA in at least 10 years.

Read on for highlights of Schulman’s session on marketing and advertising in a post-PHH world.

The Federal Reserve is looking to gather information which it can use to review interagency guidance on compliance regarding reverse mortgages.

The Fed is seeking public comment on a collection proposal which would be used to determine whether any changes to the Interagency Guidance on Managing Compliance and Reputation Risks for Reverse Mortgage Products were required before the guidance is extended for three years.

Read on for how you can make your voice heard.

 Female compliance officers earn 72 percent of what their male counterparts earn on average, according to a new study by the BarkerGilmore executive search firm.

“Determining the exact compensation for a compliance officer can be trickier than many other professions since there are so many factors to consider,” said John Gilmore, founding partner of BarkerGilmore.

What did the study find that could help determine the correct compensation for compliance officers? Read on.

Independent lenders are facing declining and often negative profit margins that threaten both their warehouse lines and correspondent lender outlets, according to the latest edition of Stratmor Group’s Stratmor Insights report.

So what’s an independent lender to do?

Writing in the June issue, Stratmor senior partners Jeff Babcock and Garth Graham discussed the challenges facing independent lenders as margins compress. Read on for their insights on the issues.

President Donald Trump is proposing to move select United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) housing programs to the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) as part of an overall government reorganization plan.

Moving USDA’s rural housing loan guarantee and rental assistance programs to HUD would allow both agencies to focus on their core missions while further aligning the federal government’s role in housing policy, according to the Reform Plan and Reorganization Recommendations.

Read on for more details on what the plan could mean for housing programs.