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WASHINGTON, D.C. - October 23, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- Five federal regulatory agencies today issued a statement to address industry questions about fair lending risks associated with offering only Qualified Mortgages. Creditors have asked for clarity regarding whether the disparate impact doctrine of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) and its implementing regulation, Regulation B, allows them to originate only Qualified Mortgages. For the reasons described in the statement, the five agencies do not anticipate that a creditor's decision to offer only Qualified Mortgages would, absent other factors, elevate a supervised institution's fair lending risk.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - October 17, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- As part of Fannie Mae’s continued effort to provide greater transparency to the marketplace, Fannie Mae will begin publication of monthly loan level disclosure for single-family mortgage-backed securities (MBS) starting in December. The monthly loan level disclosure file will contain loans underlying single-family MBS with issue dates beginning on or after January 1, 2013. The first monthly loan level disclosure file will be published on the eighth business day of December (December 11, 2013)

WASHINGTON, D.C. - October 16, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- Today, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is releasing a bulletin and interim final rule to provide greater clarity to the market concerning mortgage servicing rules that take effect in January 2014. The clarifications address communications with family members after a borrower dies, contact with delinquent borrowers, and treatment of consumers who have filed for bankruptcy or invoked certain protections under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - October 16, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- Charles “Chuck” Quick, president and CEO of IBERIABANK Mortgage, Little Rock, Ark., has been named to the Real Estate Industry Council of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - October 15, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- The NRMLA/RiskSpan Reverse Mortgage Market Index (RMMI) rose in Q2 2013 by 3.1 percent to 160.1, its highest level since Q4 2008.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - October 11, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Federal Reserve Board on Thursday announced that it has reached an agreement in principle with SunTrust Banks, Inc., and certain of its subsidiaries (SunTrust) regarding the issuance of $160 million in monetary sanctions. The monetary sanctions would be assessed for unsafe and unsound processes and practices in residential mortgage loans servicing and foreclosure processing

WASHINGTON, D.C. - October 9, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- Today, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ordered Mortgage Master, Inc. and Washington Federal to pay civil penalties for violating the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA), which requires certain mortgage lenders to accurately collect and report data about home mortgage loans. Mortgage Master will pay $425,000 and Washington Federal will pay $34,000 in civil penalties. The CFPB is also releasing a bulletin today that puts mortgage lenders on notice about the importance of submitting correct mortgage loan information under HMDA.

Fairfax, VA - October 9, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- Americans for Limited Government President Nathan Mehrens today issued the following statement noting the irony of Barack Obama calling delinquent mortgage borrowers “deadbeats,”comparing them to Congress questioning whether the nation can continue increasing the national debt by more than $1 trillion a year via the debt ceiling:

SEATTLE, WA - October 8, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- After more than five years of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac conservatorship, now is the time to move past the temporary fixes that were put in place during the crisis and create a functional and sustainable housing finance system. But with so many plans being put forward, it can be confusing for consumers to understand how changes to the mortgage finance system might affect them. What is in store for the future of mortgage finance? How will the reform of government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) evolve with the housing recovery?

WASHINGTON, D.C. - October 7, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have completed more than 2.9 million foreclosure prevention actions since the start of conservatorship in 2008. These actions have helped approximately 2.4 million borrowers stay in their homes, including more than 1.4 million who received permanent loan modifications. During the first half of 2013, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac completed more than 247,000 foreclosure prevention actions, 117,000 of these in the second quarter. The majority of these allowed troubled borrowers to save their homes. The results are detailed in the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s second quarter 2013 Foreclosure Prevention Report, also known as the Federal Property Manager’s Report

WASHINGTON, D.C. - October 3, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Homeownership Preservation Foundation (HPF), an independent national nonprofit dedicated to helping distressed homeowners navigate financial challenges and avoid mortgage foreclosure through its Homeowner’s HOPE™ Hotline at 888-995-HOPE™, today issued guidance to federal employees anticipating difficulties meeting their monthly mortgage obligations due to a government shutdown-related loss of income.

DENVER - October 2, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- Monitor of the National Mortgage Settlement, today issued new metrics that impose greater oversight over Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase, CitiGroup and Wells Fargo under the National Mortgage Settlement. These new metrics are the result of violations that the monitor reported earlier this summer regarding the banks’ compliance with the settlement. Staff of the Consumer Protection Section of the Colorado Attorney General’s Office serve on the monitoring committee and throughout the summer, Smith and the committee developed new protocols to give greater protection and additional resources to homeowners working to save their homes from foreclosure. These improved protocols are now being tested as part of these new metrics.

Washington, D.C. - October 1, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- Five additional state agencies began using the new National SAFE MLO test today, bringing the total number of state agencies to 35 who have implemented this new test.

WASHINGTON - October 1, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- Today, Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee Chairman Tim Johnson (D-SD) held a hearing titled “Housing Finance Reform: Fundamentals of a Functioning Private Label Mortgage Backed Securities Market.”

WASHINGTON, D.C. - October 1, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Justice Department filed a settlement agreement and order today that resolved allegations that Chevy Chase Bank F.S.B. engaged in a pattern or practice of discrimination against qualified African-American and Hispanic borrowers in its home mortgage lending from 2006 through 2009.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - September 30, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) today proposed a rule to define a ‘Qualified Mortgage (QM)’ that would be insured, guaranteed or administered by HUD, including single-family forward mortgages insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA). HUD is seeking the public’s comment on its proposed rule by October 30th. Read HUD’s proposed rule

WASHINGTON, D.C. - September 10, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- A coalition of fair housing and civil right groups filed an amicus brief in federal court today, supporting the City of Richmond’s opposition to a motion for preliminary injunction filed by trustees Wells Fargo Bank and Deutsche Bank. The trustees (Wells and Deutsche Bank) seek to block the City’s plan to help homeowners by restructuring underwater mortgages.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - September 27, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC) Housing Commission will host a discussion on the proposed qualified residential mortgage rule next Wednesday, October 2, 2013 at 9:00AM EDT

WASHINGTON, D.C. - September 26, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- National data show interest rates on mortgages continued their upward trend. Contract mortgage interest rates increased 0.25 percent from July to August, according to an index of new mortgage contracts

WASHINGTON, D.C. - September 24, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- Thank you so much for having me here today as you discuss the aftermath of the financial crisis and the future of banking regulation. I know many of you are interested to know what is on our agenda at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, so I would like to describe where we have been and where we are going