Nearly three years after the enactment of the Dodd-Frank Act, community banks continue to struggle with navigating the confusing, complex, voluminous, and harmful rules and regulations of this law according to a recent  report  from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) reviewed at today's Financial Institutions Subcommittee hearing. A portion of the report focused on the regulatory costs for community banks, where the participants stated that no one regulation, but rather the cumulative effects of all regulatory requirements weigh down their banks. The regulatory burden is also preventing new community banks from forming.  No new community bank charters have been granted since 2011, due in part to the regulatory burden of Dodd-Frank. A majority of the bankers interviewed also reported that their banks are increasingly relying on third-party consultants and service providers to assist with interpreting and implementing new or changing rules and regulations, citing their inability to understand and implement regulatory changes within required timeframes and their concern that their method of compliance may not pass regulatory scrutiny. "The FDIC study attempts to quantify the growing burden of complying with the myriad of financial regulations for community financial institutions.   This was a common theme for our subcommittee last Congress and I expect it will continue to be a common concern for community bankers going forward.   In January of 2011, just six months after the Dodd-Frank Act was signed into law, we heard from a community banker in West Virginia who already hired an additional compliance officer to deal with the increasing complexity of compliance," said Financial Institutions Subcommittee Chairwoman Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV).  "I understand this is a difficult figure to quantify but we must keep up the discussion amongst policy makers, regulators, and...

Ally to Sell Remaining Mortgage Servicing Rights to Quicken Businessweek Ally Financial Inc. (ALLY), the lender that had its capital plan rejected last week by the Federal Reserve, agreed to sell its remaining agency mortgage servicing rights to Quicken Loans Inc. for about $280 million. The loans had an unpaid principal balance of ... and more »

One metric could be exposing weakness in the housing recovery, Gluskin Sheff & Associates Chief Economist and Strategist David Rosenberg says.

Freddie Mac Makes Single-Family Loan-Level Data Publicly Available to Boost Transparency and Modeling Accuracy

Press Release

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CRL's analysis of "Ongoing Implementation",a report on 2012 efforts under the National Mortgage Settlement to halt foreclosures through loan modifications, and other assistance.

WASHINGTON (March 21, 2013) - February existing-home sales and prices affirm a healthy recovery is underway in the housing sector, according to the National Association of Realtors ® . Sales have been above year-ago levels for 20 consecutive months, while prices show 12 consecutive months of year-over-year price increases. Total existing-home sales 1 , which are completed transactions that include single-family homes,... Read More

Mortgage Rates Stage for Start of Spring Homebuying Season

When it comes to new-home construction, it's important to take a step back and remember where the market is.

Cummings Calls for Hearing with Banks And FHFA's DeMarco Washington, D.C. (March 21, 2013) -- Today, Congressman Elijah E. Cummings, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, released a new report issued by the Inspector General of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) warning that mortgage companies that service loans backed by Freddie Mac "have largely failed to implement" requirements to resolve "escalated cases" of serious homeowner complaints alleging abuses such as improper foreclosures and fraudulent servicing practices.   "Today's report reveals the latest in a sorry string of failures by FHFA leadership to protect American homeowners," said Cummings. "After so many reports documenting the abuses homeowners have suffered at the hands of mortgage servicers, it is unconscionable that FHFA has failed to require mortgage servicers to properly handle tens of thousands of homeowner complaints."   The Inspector General concluded that between October 1, 2011, and November 30, 2012, more than 34,000 escalated cases were filed by homeowners with Freddie Mac and its eight largest mortgage servicers.  Although current FHFA guidelines require these complaints to be resolved within 30 days of receipt, more than 20% were not resolved within that timeframe.    Current FHFA guidelines also require mortgage servicers to report the escalated cases they receive to Freddie Mac on a monthly basis.  The Inspector General found that four of Freddie Mac's largest mortgage servicers-including Bank of America, CitiMortgage, Provident, and Wells Fargo-"did not report any escalated cases to Freddie Mac despite handling more than 20,000 such cases."   The Inspector General also found that no penalties have been imposed on servicers for their failure to handle escalated cases in a manner compliant with current FHFA guidelines.  ...

Banks making payday loans continue to trap customers in a cycle of debt, a new CRL study shows. Seniors face particular risks.